KOREAN  SKETCHES 


qu 

m 


3535^^ 


JAMES  S.GALE 


/  .XLAI.'O^ 


^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^^ 


Purchased   by  the    Hamill   Missionary   Fund. 


Division 


Section 


4f\Z,75^ 


KOREAN  SKETCHES 


DEVIL    POSTS. 


KOREAN  SKETCHES 


Rev.  James  S.  Gale,  B.A. 

(  Toronto  University) 
Of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission,  Wonsan,  Korea 


Fleming    H.  Revell    Company 


New  York 


Chicago 


M  DCCC  xcix 


Toronto 


Copyright,  1898 

by 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Compamv 


Preface 

Comparatively  little  has  as  yet  been  writ- 
ten that  gives  an  idea  of  Korean  life  and  char- 
acter. After  some  nine  years  of  intimate  asso- 
ciation with  this  quaintest  and  oldest  of  living 
races,  I  have  put  these  sketches  together,  be- 
lieving that  they  give  a  correct  picture  of  the 
Hermit  people  as  it  is,  and  as  it  has  been  since 
the  long  forgotten  days  before  our  Anglo-Saxon 
race  came  into  existence.  May  they  be  instru- 
mental in  drawing  young  men  and  women  into 
deeper  sympathy  with  our  brothers  and  sisters 
of  the  Hermit  Kingdom  ! 

James  S.  Gale. 

WoNSAN,  KOEKA. 


ON  LIFE. 

Ye  white  gull  of  the  sea 
So  free  / 

What  earthly  care  or  rue. 

Is  there  for  a  bird  like  you. 

Swimming  on  the  sea  ? 

Tell  of  those  happy  islands  where 
Poor  mortals  may  resign  their  care. 

And  follow  after  thee  1 


Contents 

J,  PAGE 

I.     FlEST  IMPEESSIONS ^ 


II.    The  Coolie ^^ 

III.  The  Yalu  and  Beyond 72^ 

IV.  From  Poverty  to  Riches 104 

V.    The  Korean  Pony     H''' 

VI.    Across  Korea 127 

VII.    The  Korean  Boy 143 

VIII.    Korean  New  Year 157 

IX.    The  Korean  Mind ^'^^ 

X.    The  Korean  Gentleman 182 

XI.    Korea's  Present  Condition 194 

XII.    Some  Special  Friends 


222 


XIII.    A  Missionary  Chapter 238 


ON  LIFE. 

More  than  half  of  life  is  over. 
Young  again  ?  no,  never  !  never ! 
Cease,  then,  from  this  growing  gray,. 
And  as  you  are,  so  please  to  stay ; 
These  white  hairs  must  surely  know 
How  to  turn  more  slowly  so! 


PHILOSOPHICAL 

This  mountain  green,  these  waters  blue. 
They  were  not  made,  they  simply  grew ; 
And  'tween  the  hills  and  waters  here, 
I,  too,  have  grown  as  I  appear. 
Youth  grows,  until  the  years  unfold. 
Then  age  comes  on  by  growing  old. 


ALL  AT   ONE   SHOVEL 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Seoul        

Devil  Posts         .... 

All  at  One  Shovel 

Some  of  the  Inhabitants  i 

The  Hope  of  the  Nation  ) 

The  Coolie  i 

The  Coolie's  Wife  )       *        *        ' 

The  Korean  Pony 

The  Cangue  -^ 

According  to  Law  /      *        *        * 

The  Wardrobe  of  the  Gentry    i 

KosiKi  (What-you-may-call-her)  ) 

Wonsan  Japanese  Settlement 

WoNSAN  Chinese  Settlement 

H.  H.  Prince  Eui  Wha 

Korean  Minister  to  the  United  States 

Buddhist  Monks     ^ 

Buddhist  Pagoda  f       •        •        •        • 


Frontispiece 
Page     2 
9 


Facing 


40 

52 
118 
170 

190 


234 


/ 


A  KOREAN  LOJ^E  SONG. 

That  rock  heaved  up  on  yonder  shore, 
I'll  chisel  out  and  cut  and  score. 
And  mark  the  hair,  and  make  the  horns, 
And  put  on  feet,  and  all  the  turns 

Required  for  a  cow; 
And  then,  my  love,  if  you  go  'way, 
I'll  saddle  up  my  bovine  gray. 

And  follow  you  somehow. 


KOREAN  FILIAL  PIETY. 

That  ponderous  weighted  iron  bar 
I'll  spin  out  thin  in  threads  so  far 
To  reach  the  sun,  and  fasten  on 
And  tie  him  in  before  he's  gone. 
That  parents  who  are  growing  gray 
May  not  get  old  another  day. 


Korean  Sketches 


FIKST  IMPRESSIONS 


Korea,  as  doubtless  you  know,  is  a  penin- 
Bula  stretching  southwards,  in  a  position  to  form 
a  convenient  highway  for  the  Japanese,  when 
on  their  way  to  the  Celestial  Empire.  It  is 
supposed  to  contain  a  population  of  twelve  mil- 
lions ;  I  say  supposed,  as  the  census  returns  are 
anything  but  accurate.  The  area  is  about  the 
same  as  that  of  the  state  of  Utah.  The  con- 
figuration of  the  land  consists  of  a  succession 
of  mountain  ranges  so  that,  when  travelling, 
you  are  kept  on  a  constant  tiptoe  of  expecta- 
tion, each  pass  revealing  vistas  beyond.  Ko- 
reans have  an  expression  that  is  frequently  re- 
peated :  San  way  you  san  san  pool  chin  (over 
the  hills,  hills  again,  hills  without  number). 
In  1890,  on  a  journey  through  the  south,  I 
called  on  the  governor  of  Kyiing-sang,  the 
largest  province  of  the  kingdom;  and  one  of 
his  first  questions  was,  "  Do  the  mountains  sit 
as  close  together  in  your  honorable  country  ?  " 
These  mountains  form  sites  for  ancestral  graves, 
11 


12  Korean  Sketches 

are  looked  upon  as  dragons,  and,  as  the  native 
says,  distribute  various  atmospheres  over  the 
land,  propitious  and  unpropitious. 

The  following  spring,  the  same  governor  was 
called  upon  to  decide  a  dispute  that  arose  con- 
cerning one  of  these  dragon  elevations,  and  as 
his  decision  gave  dissatisfaction,  he  was  given 
a  dose  of  poison  in  a  watermelon  a  week  or  two 
later ;  so  the  grave  dispute  was  settled.  You 
may  maltreat  Koreans  with  impunity,  in  fact 
a  traveller  may  take  possession  of  their  rooms, 
and  turn  them  out  on  the  street,  and  they  will 
take  it  as  nothing  serious,  if  not  a  joke ;  but 
touch  an  ancestral  grave  and  your  life  will  pay 
for  it. 

The  people  of  Korea  claim  to  be  a  race  de- 
seended  from  the  gods,  slightly  admixed  with 
Chinese ;  no  wonder  they  develop  at  times  ex- 
traordinary traits. 

They  have  had  a  horror  of  foreigners,  yang- 
in,  or  men  of  the  sea,  from  time  immemorial. 
Weather-worn  tablets  still  stand  by  the  road- 
side, in  essence,  marked  thus:  "If  you  meet  a 
foreigner  kill  him  ;  he  who  lets  him  go  by  is 
a  traitor  to  his  country."  It  speaks  well  for 
Korea  that  she  could  lay  by  these  murderous 
traditions  in  a  day,  and  bear  with  foreigners  as 
she  has  since  the  signing  of  the  treaties.  It 
is  ten  years  and  more  since  the  "  barbarian " 
entered,  ten  years  of  political  chaos  it  has  been, 


First  Impressions  13 

and  yet  no  European  or  American  has  been 
injured,  or  threatened,  or  treated  in  any  other 
than  the  kindest  way. 

Missionary  work  has  gone  on  unmolested, 
and  there  are  a  thousand  and  more  Christians, 
having  many  established  places  for  regular  wor- 
ship. 

Amongst  my  first  impressions,  I  recall  being 
quite  overwhelmed  by  the  wide  pantaloons 
and  white  dress  of  a  Korean,  who  came  on 
board  ship  in  Nagasaki  harbor  on  my  first  ar- 
rival there.  Why  such  a  dress,  and  wherefore 
the  topknot?  Little  did  I  dream  that  he  valued 
his  topknot  so  highly,  or  that  in  every  seam  of 
his  wide  pantaloons  were  stitched  ancestral  rev- 
erence, Confucian  propriety,  ancient  traditions, 
and  other  tremendous  considerations  that  cer- 
tainly required  all  that  width  of  garment,  and 
more  too,  could  piece  goods  as  wide  as  the 
wearer's  aspirations  be  obtained. 

Our  ship  came  to  anchor  in  Fusan  bay,  which 
has  but  two  narrow  openings  and  from  the  an- 
chorage appears  landlocked.  At  the  main  en- 
trance are  immense  sentinel  cliffs  that  stand 
guard  looking  seaward.  In  the  year  1893,  one 
pleasant  June  evening,  we  were  just  making 
the  harbor  through  this  entrance,  when  sud- 
denly the  gong  sounded  to  reverse  engines, 
and  all  passengers  made  for  the  deck.  The 
chief  officer  was  ordering  a  boat  to  be  lowered 


14  Korean  Sketches 

almost  at  the  point  of  his  revolver,  as  though 
life  depended  upon  it,  while  the  captain  on  the 
bridge  was  using  strong  English.  What  such 
a  commotion  could  mean  we  were  entirely  at  a 
loss  to  know,  until  word  was  passed,  that  a  man 
was  overboard.  After  ten  minutes  searching, 
we  saw  them  fish  up  a  drowning  Chinaman, 
who,  it  seemed,  in  a  mad  freak,  had  jumped 
overboard.  My  wife  remarked  to  a  Russian 
lady  passenger  standing  by,  '*Too  bad  about 
the  poor  Chinaman."  "  Humph ! "  said  the  Rus- 
sian lady  with  a  shrug  of  her  shoulders,  **  Plenty 
Chinaman ! " 

But  I  am  digressing ;  on  this  first  trip,  when 
the  ship  dropped  anchor,  we  were  in  full  view 
of  the  brown  denuded  hills  which  look  so  un- 
inviting in  the  chill  December  atmosphere.  A 
passenger  friend  and  I  went  ashore,  and  found 
on  the  landing  a  group  of  well-dressed  natives 
wearing  horsehair  hats  with  ribbons  tied  under 
the  chin.  They  had  their  hands  buried  far  up 
in  their  wide  sleeves,  and  stood  immovable  as  a 
group  of  Buddhas.  We  set  out  on  a  walk  for 
the  town,  a  mile  or  so  distant,  and  the  natives 
began  to  move  after  us.  The}^  were  an  uncanny 
looking  lot,  so  many  seemed  to  wear  an  expres- 
sion of  sore  eyes  and  smallpox.  The  dogs,  too, 
seemed  all  to  have  the  mange.  As  soon  as  pos- 
sible we  sought  refuge  from  such  company  and 
went  on  board  ship. 


First  Impressions  i^ 

Our  voyage  of  more  than  four  hundred  miles 
from  Fusan  to  Chemulpo  was  among  rocks,  and 
along  a  dangerous,  partially  surveyed  seacoast. 
A  deal  of  faith  is  required  to  sail  here,  with 
not  a  single  beacon  fire  or  light  to  assist  the 
navigator.  Many  a  time  since  I  have  crossed 
this  same  sea,  but  never  without  a  feeling  of 
expectancy,  as  we  passed  in  the  darkness  black 
banks  of  solid  rock  just  visible  above  the  water. 
One  steamer  with  some  of  my  own  acquaint- 
ances and  friends  on  board,  struck  and  went 
down  here.  This  wreck  has  left  a  solemn  spot 
in  the  grim  rocky  sea.  The  wonder  is  we  have 
not  more  of  us  sounded  in  person  its  yellow 
depths. 

At  Chemulpo,  where  the  tide  rises  about 
thirty  feet,  an  immense  sea  rolls  in  and  out 
twice  a  day.  When  it  is  in,  it  laps  the  foot  of 
the  cliffs  and  mountains  along  the  coast 
line ;  when  it  is  out,  miles  of  mud  are  seen, 
where  crabs  and  turtles  and  octopus  play  leap- 
frog and  pull-a-way  together. 

At  last  we  reached  Seoul,  through  a  journey 
and  into  surroundings  as  mysterious  as  dream- 
land. Viewed  as  a  whole,  Seoul  is  said  to  be 
the  most  picturesque  city  in  the  East ;  viewed 
in  detail,  it  contains  much  to  make  one  shudder: 
but  the  people  are  kind,  and  entirely  different 
from  the  cruel  race  I  had  thought  them  to  be. 
I  cannot  however  omit  to  mention  this  objec- 


i6  Korean  Sketches 

tionable  custom  which  prevails  more  or  less 
throughout  all  the  East,  and  which  is  so  horri- 
fying to  a  newcomer,  namely,  the  constant 
presence  of  the  dead.  Kindly  and  sorrowfully 
we  bury  our  dead  out  of  sight  in  the  hope  of  a 
resurrection  and  meeting  hereafter  ;  but  not  so 
the  Korean  ;  he  ties  his  dead  in  a  mat  and  leaves 
him  to  bake  and  fester  in  the  sun.  The  very 
atmosphere  is  tainted,  and  one  becomes  an  ex- 
pert in  distinguishing  the  noxious  odors  of 
smallpox  and  cholera  victims  from  the  ordinary 
smells  of  the  far  East.  This  subject  reminds 
me  of  a  beautiful  landscape  overlooking  the  sea 
at  Fusan,  which  my  Korean  friend  and  I  were 
enjoying  one  glorious  afternoon,  when  we  hap- 
pened suddenly  upon  a  dead  child,  horrible  in 
decay,  planted  on  four  bamboo  poles.  The 
river  Styx  is  nothing  to  the  sights  and  smells 
past  which  Confucius  leads  you  on  his  way  to 
heaven.  Shortly  after  my  arrival,  while  tak- 
ing a  walk  outside  of  the  little  east  gate  of  the 
capital,  I  saw  a  hundred  and  more  of  these  ob- 
jects covered  with  matting.  *'  What  are  they  ?  " 
I  asked.  "  Those  are  the  dead."  "  The  dead? 
Why  don't  you  bury  them  ?  "  "  Cannot ;  you 
must  first  find  a  propitious  site,  otherwise  burial 
will  bring  ruin  to  the  family."  A  day  or  so 
later,  two  of  us  were  riding  on  horseback  along 
the  main  road  to  the  east  of  the  city,  when  sud- 
denly my  horse  gave  a  start,  and  there  I  beheld 


First  Impressions  17 

three  decapitated  bodies,  with  heads  lying  on 
the  roadway.  I  returned  home  in  disgust,  feel- 
ing that  I  would  like  to  get  out  of  this  country 
with  its  horrible  dead ;  but  time  works  wonders. 
I  began  to  see  another  side — that  the  people 
loved  these  things  as  little  as  I — that  it  was  a 
part  of  their  Confucian  religion — and  that  they 
needed  the  real  Light  of  Life  so  much  the  more. 
In  March,  1889,  I  decided  to  make  my  first 
venture  inland.  Foreigners  had  travelled 
through  the  country,  but  no  one  had  as  yet  at- 
tempted to  take  up  his  residence  outside  of  the 
capital.  The  element  of  uncertainty,  which 
adds  interest  to  any  undertaking,  helped  me. 
I  sent  seventy  dollars  by  a  trusty  native  with 
which  to  buy  me  a  house  in  Haju,  the  capital  of 
Whang-ha  (Yellow  sea)  province.  He  returned 
with  the  money  three  weeks  later  as  though 
the  furies  had  been  after  him.  The  good  citi- 
zens of  Haju  had  heard  that  he  was  the  emis- 
sary of  a  "barbarian,"  and  so  had  rid  their 
town  of  him  forthwith.  No  foreign  residence 
yet  defiles  the  precincts  of  the  sacred  city  of 
Haju.  In  spite  of  this  act  of  defiance  on  the 
part  of  these  good  people,  I  felt  that  I  would 
have  to  go,  even  though  no  house  awaited  me. 
With  a  horse  or  two,  a  soldier,  a  boy  and  a 
stableman,  I  bade  my  friends  good-bye,  and 
turned  toward  Haju,  sending  a  letter  ahead 
to   a  Mr.  An    living   in   Chang-ycin,  some  dis- 


l8  Korean  Sketches 

tance  beyond,  who  was  recommended  to  me  as 
honest. 

The  soldier  who  accompanied  me  had  a  very- 
red  nose  and  a  most  fragrant  atmosphere  that 
smacked  of  sul  (rice  whiskey).  He  was  evi- 
dently "  up  "  in  the  arts  of  peace,  quite  as  much 
as  in  the  arts  of  war.  He  would  jog  along  at  a 
peculiar  trot  just  in  front  of  my  pony  until  he 
saw  a  party  coming,  when  at  once  his  manner 
would  become  animated.  He  would  shout  his 
commands  to  clear  the  way,  dismount,  stop 
smoking,  and  attack  them  like  a  perfect  whirl- 
wind. They  in  every  case  bore  with  abject 
submission  to  be  kicked  and  cuffed.  The  first 
opportunity  I  called  him,  and  said  I  would 
have  to  have  this  stopped,  that  I  never  could 
consent  to  go  through  the  country  like  a  brig- 
and, and  that  he  would  have  to  put  a  check 
on  the  exercise  of  his  authority.  He,  however, 
explained  that  his  was  good  Korean  custom, 
and  that  if  I  did  not  go  through  the  country 
with  some  degree  of  form,  I  never  would  be 
respected.  I  found  later  that  the  only  way  to 
escape  this  proper  form,  was  to  dismiss  the 
soldier  and  travel  in  the  company  of  a  civilian. 

On  leaving  the  capital,  as  I  discovered  later, 
the  rascal  had  asked  the  magistrate  of  each  dis- 
trict to  send  word  ahead  to  the  next  official 
town,  that  the  "great  man"  was  coming. 
Who    the  "  great   man "   was,   or  in   what  ca- 


First  Impressions  19 

pacity  he  was  travelling,  never  once  was  raised, 
but  every  effort  was  made  to  show  respect. 
Just  as  soon  as  a  company  of  district  runners 
left  me  others  were  on  the  way  to  act  as  escort. 
My  passport  was  sufficient  to  call  forth  every 
attention,  and  the  pretended  humility  of  the 
people  along  this  first  trip  inland  was  quite  em- 
barrassing. To  feel  at  the  same  time  that  I 
had  repaid  civility  with  abuse,  was  painful,  ig- 
norant as  I  was  of  good  Korean  custom. 

Once  night  overtook  us  while  still  seven 
miles  from  our  destination.  The  soldier  kept 
well  ahead  shouting  over  his  shoulder  "push 
on ! "  The  little  lad  of  fifteen  years  who  had 
charge  of  my  pony,  had  already  run  thirty -three 
miles  over  the  gummy  roads  proving  his  pow- 
ers of  endurance.  We  crossed  a  ferry,  and 
night  rolled  over  us  dark,  and  cold,  and  clammy. 
Now  every  voice  echoed  as  we  rode  along. 
The  horses  were  wearied,  as  was  I,  sitting 
since  daylight  in  the  cramped  position  in  the 
saddle.  But  round  and  round  we  went,  over 
hills  skirting  low  woodlands,  picking  our  way 
through  the  marshy  rice  fields  where  groups  of 
white  wild  fowl  stood  like  snowbanks  in  the 
mud.  Peculiar  calls  there  were.  "What  are 
those  ?"  I  asked.  '' Puhongi,''  said  he.  "But 
what  are  puhUngi  ?  "  "  The  bird  with  the  big 
round  eyes,"  said  the  boy.  Along  with  these 
sounds,   over    every    distant    hamlet   arose   a 


20  Korean  Sketches 

white  cloud  of  smoke,  announcing  fire  for  the 
evening  meal. 

When  so  dark  that  we  could  no  longer  pro- 
ceed, we  came  to  a  halt  before  a  small  thatched 
hut,  and  here  my  soldier  stood  kicking  and 
pounding  the  door  ready  to  break  it  in.  At 
last  it  was  opened,  and  I  saw  him  cuff  the 
owner  of  the  place  and  order  him  out  at  once. 
After  a  succession  of  Nei-i-i-s  (yes),  long  drawn 
out,  the  proprietor  came  forth  carrying  a  stiff 
narrow  twist  of  straw,  some  ten  feet  in  length. 
He  lit  one  end,  and  then  we  saw  what  it 
meant.  With  this  as  torch  he  led  the  way. 
The  sparks  flew  into  my  eyes  and  over  me  in 
showers.  Every  few  minutes  he  would  break 
off  the  burned  ends  by  poking  it  against  the 
ground  and  then  swing  it  to  make  it  burn 
afresh.  When  we  came  to  another  hamlet, 
the  first  torch-bearer,  who  had  been  pressed 
into  service,  returned  home  leaving  some  one 
in  this  neighborhood  to  take  his  place.  This 
last  part  of  the  seven  miles  was  accomplished 
at  a  run,  the  soldier  whipping  up  the  torch- 
bearer  when  he  lagged.  With  hurrahs  and 
calls  of  various  kinds,  we  went  sweeping  into 
our  destination,  the  inhabitants  peeking  out  of 
the  partially  opened  door  or  window  to  see 
what  manner  of  official  could  be  passing  in 
such  state  and  with  such  variety  of  clatter  and 
call. 


First  Impressions  21 

>i         The  marks  of  respect  shown  me  through  the 
indefatigable  efforts  of  my  soldier,  increased  to 
such  an  extent  that,  when  a  week  later  I  en- 
tered the  city  of  Haju,  a  large  portion  of  the 
population  came  out  to  meet  me.     The  morn- 
ing of  that  day  had  been  exceedingly  peaceful, 
the    larks    singing    overhead,    and   the   spring 
atmosphere  softening  the  view  on  every  hand ; 
but  it  was  the  peace  that  presages  turmoil,  for 
by  noon,  when  still  twelve  miles  from  the  city, 
horses   and   men   dressed   in   colors   civil  and 
military,  were  waiting  to  do  me  honor.     There 
was  no  opportunity  to  decline  these  favors,  so 
I  received  them  boldly  and  made  the  best   of 
them.     A   certain  satisfaction  in  the  irony  of 
fate  possessed  me,  when  I  beheld  the  defiant 
citizens  of  Haju,   who  had  refused  to  sell  me  a 
house,  kicked  and  tumbled  by  my  incorrigible 
soldier,  while  I  rode  into  the  governor's  yamen 
in  proper  Korean  form. 

I  remained  in  Haju  two  weeks,  and  several 
times  was  ushered  into  the  presence  of  the  gov- 
ernor, a  nervous  man,  who  seemed  in  a  per- 
petual state  of  uneasiness.  He  asked  my  name, 
how  old  I  was,  if  I  was  married,  and  what  I  had 
come  to  do  in  the  land  of  Morning  Calm.  He 
wished  to  know  my  country,  and  when  I  said 
Mi-guk,  he  inquired  of  the  servants  gazing  in 
at  the  window  if  they  knew  to  which  of  the 
outskirts  of  the  universe  such  a  kingdom  be- 


22  Korean  Sketches 

longed.     Of  course  they  knew  not,  and  the  gov- 
ernor shook  his  head  doubtfully. 

A  great  wall  of  China  seemed  to  separate  us. 
My  country,  my  calling,  my  appearance,  were 
all  mysteries  to  him.  For  example,  why  had  I 
taken  my  hat  off  on  entering,  when  Korean  cus- 
tom requires  you  to  put  it  on  if  you  will  show 
respect.  I  tried  to  say,  that  our  country,  being 
on  the  other  side  of  the  earth,  had  fallen  into 
many  customs  the  very  opposite  of  those  in 
Korea.  "The  other  side  of  the  earth,"  what 
did  that  mean  ?  And  at  once  we  were  into  the 
perplexing  question  of  the  shape  of  matter  in 
general.  But,  says  the  governor,  Confucius 
says  that  the  heavens  are  round  and  the  earth, 
square  and  flat,  and  here  this  foreign  gentleman 
pretends  the  opposite  ;  and  a  shock  of  nervous- 
ness took  him  that  threatened  violent  prostra- 
tion. The  wall  of  China  grew  apace,  till  a  serv- 
ant brought  in  a  table  of  food,  and  His  Excel- 
lency asked  me  to  partake,  eyeing  me  closely 
the  while  to  see  whether  I  ate  the  food  or  the 
brass  bowls  and  chopsticks ;  for  Koreans  hold 
that  different  degrees  of  spiritual  being  require 
different  material  for  food,  some  eat  metal,  some 
wood,  some  grass,  some  air,  while  the  purely 
human  eats  rice,  pork,  raw  fish,  etc.  The  first 
spoonful  of  rice  I  took  levelled  that  wall  of 
China.  The  governor  had  unfailing  proof  that 
I  was  human,  and  he  could  afford  to  overlook 


First  Impressions  23 

minor  differences  on  the  question  of  the  uni- 
verse, seeing  that  we  had  in  common  this 
capacity  for  rice  that  made  us  fellow  mortals. 

Fifteen  days  of  sightseeing  more  than  suf- 
ficed to  acquaint  me  with  the  characteristics  of 
the  city  of  Haju.  Like  everything  else  in 
Korea,  it  speaks  of  a  prosperity  that  has  passed 
away  ages  before.  The  walls  were  in  ruins,  the 
huts  simply  heaps  of  mud  and  sticks  like  a 
beaver  camp.  Yet  in  the  midst  of  this  squalor 
gentlemen  were  moving  about  in  immaculate 
silken  robes.  The  acquaintances  I  made  were, 
just  as  I  have  since  found  Koreans,  intel- 
ligent and  interesting.  The  mystery  is,  that 
so  many  bright  minds  can  be  content  with 
so  low  a  civilization.  Their  excuse  is,  that 
Confucius  commended  Anja  for  living  in  ab- 
ject poverty,  and  there  exemplifying  the  beau- 
ties of  To  (doctrine).  It  is  certainly  due  in 
some  way  to  the  damaging  influence  of  the 
Chinese  classics.  A  company  of  educated 
natives  will  listen  with  marked  indifference  to 
any  subject,  interesting  or  uninteresting;  but 
raise  the  question  of  the  form  of  a  Chinese 
character,  and  at  once  every  mind  is  alert,  as 
though  it  were  a  matter  of  importance  whether 
you  write  it  with  two  dots  or  four :  the  form  of 
the  character  so  often  being  the  absorbing  sub- 
ject rather  than  the  meaning  conveyed  by  it. 

One  day  a  plain -looking  countryman  unex- 


24  Korean  Sketches 

pectedly  announced  himself  at  my  door,  and 
said  he  was  An  to  whose  care  I  had  been  intrusted 
by  the  letter  sent  in  advance.  He  asked  me  the 
ordinary  questions,  how  old  I  was,  was  my 
father  alive,  and  then  proposed  that  we  start  at 
once  for  his  home  in  Chang-yon.  A  day  later 
I  was  jogging  along  on  a  pack  pony  with  two 
runners  ahead  in  blue  coats,  wide  hats,  and  red 
liead  tassels. 

Our  adventures  were  numerous,  for  these 
runners  whom  the  governor  insisted  on  my 
taking,  simply  cleared  the  country-side  of  every 
traveller.  Their  calls  were  heard  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  unfortunates  who  found  themselves 
on  the  king's  highway  fled  wildly.  It  was  in 
vain  that  I  remonstrated.  They  would  bow 
profoundly  on  both  hands,  and  the  next  moment 
would  so  furiously  set  upon  a  fellow  country- 
man, who,  perhaps,  had  ventured  with  pipe  in 
mouth  to  look  at  us,  that  all  that  was  left  of 
him  was  a  confusion  of  topknot  and  padded 
trousers.  In  one  case  a  whole  town  rose  in 
arms,  but,  nothing  daunted,  these  hangmen 
charged  the  entire  community  and  scattered 
them  in  all  directions. 

I  was  determined  to  be  rid  of  them,  so  mak- 
ing them  a  present,  liberal  according  to  Mr. 
An's  reckoning,  said  they  might  go.  They 
were  both  prostrated  in  the  dust  and  covered 
with   confusion   at   this  turn   in   affairs.     The 


First  Impressions  25 

more  violent  runner  who  had  but  one  eye, 
wept  copiously  through  it,  saying  that  he  had 
hoped  we  might  ever  be  together  as  he  had 
had  a  better  time  in  my  service  than  he  had  ever 
had  before.     Partings  are  sad — but  we  parted. 

That  same  day,  just  as  evening  was  coming 
on,  Mr.  An  and  I  wound  our  way  through  a 
high  mountain  pass.  He  warned  me  repeat- 
edly of  horangi  (tigers).  A  neighbor  of  his  had 
been  carried  off  through  this  pass  and  eaten 
only  a  half  moon  before.  At  the  summit,  a 
rushing  through  the  grass  startled  us,  and  there 
was  one  creature,  and  another,  and  another  that 
went  by  us  like  a  flash,  six  in  all — not  tigers — 
but  deer.  They  had  been  feediug  in  the  valley 
and  were  now  on  their  way  home.  We  breathed 
more  freely  and  whipped  up  the  ponies.  It 
was  nearly  ten  o'clock  when  we  reached  An's 
village,  which  was  dark  as  Egypt,  and  would 
never  have  announced  itself  but  for  the  dogs 
that  smelt  the  foreigner  and  simply  roared  them- 
selves into  hysteria. 

The  room  into  which  I  was  hurried  had  a 
feeble  light  in  one  corner  that  gasped  and  sput- 
tered. The  mud  walls,  mud  ceiling,  mud  floor, 
and  atmosphere  of  smoke  that  enveloped  every- 
thing, reminded  me  of  a  lodging  place  travel- 
lers might  find  who  were  on  their  way  to  the 
centre  of  the  earth,  or,  as  the  ancients  called  it, 
Hades. 


26  Korean  Sketches 

The  first  moments  were  interrupted  by  the 
entrance  of  half  a  dozen  natives.  No  subter- 
ranean dwellers  could  have  worn  a  wilder  ap- 
pearance. They  were  partially  dressed  in  what 
had  once  been  white-^  but  what  was  now  as 
smoky  in  color  as  their  own  bodies.  The  hair, 
knotted  in  native  style  on  the  top,  had  un- 
ravelled itself  over  face  and  shoulders.  One 
after  another  they  squatted  silently  in  the 
farther  corners  of  the  room,  puffing,  meanwhile, 
clouds  of  tobacco  smoke.  In  this  manner  an 
hour  or  so  passed. 

There  is  a  feeling  of  loneliness  and  inde- 
scribable depression  that  comes  over  one's  soul 
when  beiug  long  gazed  at  as  a  wild  beast.  The 
paper  doors  and  windows  are  poked  full  of 
finger  holes,  and  back  of  each  a  dark  eye  takes 
position  and  rivets  you  with  unwinking  gaze. 
A  single  eye  without  its  companion  orb  or  ac- 
companying facial  expression  to  give  it  mean- 
ing, exerts  an  uncanny  influence  that  prompts 
one  to  blow  out  the  light  by  which  it  sees  or 
turn  a  stream  of  water  on  it.  The  eyes  that 
beset  one  in  Korea,  before  and  behind,  have 
proven  one  of  the  liardest  trials  of  missionary 
life.  This  first  night  at  friend  An's  was  no  ex- 
ception, and  the  only  way  I  could  get  rest  and 
sleep  was  by  consigning  all  to  darkness. 

I  was  disturbed  by  the  hard  matting  and  the 
heated  floor,  and  was  glad  when  morning  came. 


First  Impressions  27 

Breakfast  was  handed  in  through  a  rear  door- 
way opening  into  the  unexplored  region  where 
the  women  live.  The  mystery  that  compassed 
the  room  the  previous  night,  had  departed. 
Old-fashioned  sunlight,  so  matter-of-fact,  had 
given  it  chase,  and  now  overhead  and  about  me 
were  the  friendly  forms  of  mud  and  straw  and 
cobwebs. 

The  street  that  morning  had  been  wild  with 
tumult.  Every  now  and  then  great  sounds 
would  explode  just  in  front  of  my  door.  I 
asked  my  host  what  the  war  was  about.  *'  Noth- 
ing," said  he,  "no  war,"  resuming  his  pipe. 

While  trying  to  imagine  what  a  riot  could 
possibly  be  like  when  peace  was  so  noisy,  I  was 
asked  to  take  a  walk  to  see  the  town.  Passing 
the  doorway  we  came  upon  a  group  of  coolies 
whose  appearance  neither  familiarity  nor  sun- 
light could  civilize.  They  looked  just  as  wild 
as  ever  as  they  walked  round  me  continuing 
the  survey  of  the  evening  before.  The  streets 
of  the  place  were  narrow.  Gutters  cut  through 
the  clay  here  and  there  were  half  filled  with 
stagnant  water  that  charged  the  air  with 
poisonous  odors.  The  houses,  as  elsewhere, 
were  low  mud  huts  covered  with  straw,  under 
the  floors  of  which  were  smoking  fires.  The 
abode  of  Mr.  An,  where  I  slept,  turned  out  to 
be  a  palatial  residence  compared  with  many. 
Every  alley  was  thronging  with  men,  some  pass- 


28  Korean  Sketches 

ing  hurriedly,  others  grouped  about  smoking 
pipes  two  and  three  feet  long.  They  ques- 
tioned An  vigorously  as  to  who  I  was  and 
where  I  had  come  from.  An  did  his  part  ex- 
ceedingly well, — seeing  that  he  was  getting 
only  eight  dollars  a  month  for  the  safe  pres- 
ervation of  my  head,  in  a  land,  where  execu- 
tions are  as  common  as  "  a  dollar  and  costs  or 
thirty  days  "  at  home. 

All  being  satisfactory  we  moved  on.  Such 
a  multitude  of  dogs  and  naked  children  I  had 
never  seen  before.  The  children  ran  on  first  ap- 
proach, but  not  so  the  dogs.  With  glaring  eyes 
and  bristling  necks  they  threatened  me  from 
beneath  gateways,  or  gathered  in  howling  con- 
ferences behind  the  bamboo  paling.  I  remarked 
here  in  my  best  Korean,  "For  mercy's  sake.  An, 
why  don't  you  kill  these  dogs?"  "Too  early 
yet,"  An  replied,  "we'll  kill  them  later  on." 
"But  why  don't  you  kill  them  now  and  quiet 
the  town?"  I  asked.  "Why,"  he  said,  "you 
know  that  dogs  are  not  good  eating  in  spring. 
We  wait  till  summer  before  we  kill  them. 
Do  you  eat  them  in  spring  in  your  country  ?  " 
"  Well,  no !  "  I  said  with  some  surprise,  "  I  would 
not  like  to  be  guilty  of  eating  one  of  those  at 
anytime."  "Don't  you  use  them  at  all?  "  he 
asked  again.  "  No  !  Not  in  our  country."  An 
wore  a  look  of  disgust  at  the  thought  of  such 
fools  as  we  must  be.     By  noon  we  had  again 


First  Impressions  29 

reached  home  after  mj  first  view  of  Chang-yon 
town. 

For  the  three  months  that  I  remained  there 
life  was  very  simple.  I  sat  day  after  day  in 
one  end  of  the  room,  crosslegged  on  the  stone 
floor,  until  my  ankles  were  calloused  harder 
than  the  heel,  and  my  knees  had  grown  accus- 
tomed to  the  new  feat  of  bending  outwards. 
Floor  life  is  more  sociable  and  conducive  to 
conversation  than  being  perched  upon  chairs. 
I  always  had  callers.  They  would  come  from 
earliest  dawn  and  put  me  through  the  list  of 
questions  that  are  unconsciously  asked  of  every 
traveller  in  the  Far  East:  What  is  your  fam- 
ily name?  Where  do  you  reside?  Have  you 
come  in  peace  ?  Are  your  parents  alive  ?  How 
old  are  you  ?  How  many  brothers  to  you  ?  Have 
you  a  son  ?  What  have  you  come  to  do  ?  Do 
you  know  where  the  people  live  who  have  only 
one  eye  in  their  head?  Where  is  the  woman's 
kingdom?  What's  your  salary?  Can  you  pull 
your  teeth  out  when  you  like,  or  your  eyes? 
Have  you  medicine  that  will  cure  everything? 

An's  father,  who  was  a  vigorous  old  man, 
used  to  help  me  through  this  list  after  he  had 
heard  it  often  enough  to  know  my  answers  by 
heart.  It  seemed  to  delight  him  to  impart  such 
information  to  the  passers-by.  He  would  hail 
these  and  tell  them  to  come  inside  and  see  a 
man   that   knew    everything.     *'A    very   good 


30  Korean  Sketches 

man,"  grandfather  An  would  say.  "  You  can 
ask  him  anything  you  like  and  he'll  answer 
you."  Little  did  he  know  the  pent-up  disin- 
clinations that  were  often  ready  to  burst  forth 
on  these  never-ending  interviewers. 

An  senior  always  awoke  me  in  the  morning. 
He  would  spread  a  large  mat  on  the  ground 
just  in  front  of  my  window,  and  empty  beans 
or  rice  on  it  to  dry  in  the  morning  sun.  The 
chickens  would  make  straight  for  the  heap, 
whereupon  Mr.  An  would  shout  Hu-u-u-u !  Hu ! 
at  the  top  of  his  voice.  The  hens  did  not  mind 
it,  but  it  always  awoke  me. 

My  nights  were  passed  on  the  stone  floor 
with  only  a  blanket  between  me  and  the  hard 
matting.  I  used  to  dream  in  those  days.  The 
wooden  block  under  my  head  seemed  full  of 
the  spirit  of  night  wandering,  and  scarcely  a 
night  passed  without  some  gigantic  effort  in 
dreamland.  The  food,  perhaps,  was  partly  re- 
sponsible, it  being  only  rice  and  weeds  pickled 
in  salt  water.  Sometimes  I  had  an  egg  when 
the  unseen  Mrs.  An  could  capture  it  for  me. 

Eggs  have  peculiar  ways  in  Korea.  A  much 
respected  American  friend  of  mine  eats  eggs 
when  he  travels,  and  plays  the  guitar  at  times 
to  vary  the  monotony  of  life.  One  evening, 
while  on  a  country  tour,  he  arrived  in  an  out- 
of-the-way  town.  Placing  his  guitar  in  a 
safe    corner    by  itself  he    sat  waiting   for  the 


First  Impressions  31 

evening  meal.  He  asked  the  host  to  cook  an 
egg  or  two  with  his  rice.  "Ah !  "  said  the  host, 
*'  but  there  are  no  eggs  in  town.  May  I  die 
and  may  the  worms  eat  me  if  there  is  an  egg  to 
be  had  in  all  these  quarters : "  and  the  patient 
sojourner  had  to  content  himself  with  rice  and 
plam  weed  steeped  in  salt  water.  When  sup- 
per was  over  the  people  of  the  town  gathered 
in, and  one  of  the  first  questions  was,  *'  What  is 
the  instrument  over  in  that  corner?"  "That's 
what  I  play  on  when  I  sing."  "  Would  the 
great  man  please  play  some  now  ?  "  every  one 
asked  at  once.  "  I  might,"  said  he,  **  but  then  I 
have  had  no  eggs  for  supper,  and  so  have  no 
heart  to  play."  "  But  there  are  not  any  eggs." 
*'  Neither  is  there  any  music."  ^^Kuhai  !  "  A 
few  minutes  later  a  dozen  as  nice  fresh  eggs  as 
ever  gladdened  his  heart  were  laid  at  his  feet, 
with  the  respectful  request,  "  Will  the  great 
man  please  play?"  The  host  was  there  too 
and  enjoyed  the  music,  in  full  view  of  the  eggs 
that  were  spread  out  before  him. 

We  had  a  wedding  while  I  was  there,  the 
bridegroom  being  An  senior.  His  wife  had 
died  some  years  before,  and  now  he  was  to 
marry  again.  An  junior  said  of  all  unparal- 
leled pieces  of  folly  dad's  marrying  again  was 
the  most  foolish.  But  Korea  permits  of  no  re- 
monstrance on  the  part  of  children,  so  the 
wedding  came  off  smoothly.     The  bride  was 


32  Korean  Sketches 

brought  in  a  closed  chair,  and  ushered  into  the 
inner  quarters  with  bustle  and  call  indicative 
of  rank  and  importance.  Though  a  young  girl, 
she  became  mother-in-law  to  an  elderly  woman, 
who  was  the  wife  of  An  junior,  and  trouble 
began.  The  Eastern  Question  is  nothing  com- 
pared with  the  entanglements  henceforth  in  the 
house  of  An.  Hanp'yong,  who  was  An  junior, 
came  to  me  one  night  and  said  he  thought  he 
would  die.  He  said  his  respected  sire  had  evi- 
dently gone  crazy,  and  that  there  would  be  no 
peace  till  this  interloper  was  ejected. 

In  those  days  as  an  extra  dish,  I  had  octopus 
to  eat  and  fried  sea-slugs.  Octopus  I  like  fairly 
well  as  an  article  of  diet,  but  in  the  long  days 
of  collapse  that  followed  these  wedding  festivi- 
ties, the  food  ran  very  low.  I  told  An  senior 
that  I  was  hungry  for  meat  and  that  I  would  be 
glad  to  pay  a  good  price  for  fowl  or  fish  if  he 
could  obtain  it  for  me.  The  next  day  he  came 
home  in  great  glee,  dragging  along  a  huge 
stinging  ray,  or  skate.  "Now  we  have  meat 
for  the  stranger,"  he  cried.  He  washed  the 
loathsome-looking  thing  at  a  spring,  then 
divided  it  and  put  on  salt.  For  days  heaped-up 
dishes  of  strong  smelling  fish  spoiled  even  the 
rice  on  my  table. 

During  this  time  the  birds  had  been  companj^ 
though  we  could  not  capture  them  for  the 
table.     Here  where  there  is  really  no  gunning. 


First  Impressions  33 

various  kinds  of  wild  fowl  become  as  tame  as 
domestic  birds  at  home.  They  stand  in  groups 
on  one  leg  eyeing  you  as  you  go  by.  There 
are  several  varieties  of  the  egret,  the  heron,  and 
others  more  or  less  interesting.  There  are 
paddy  birds,  who,  with  their  long-billed  sisters, 
stalk  about  through  the  mud  all  day  long ;  so 
wise  they  look  with  their  heads  to  one  side, 
deep  in  consideration  of  the  respective  merits 
of  slug,  eel,  and  tadpole.  The  tall,  stately  blue 
heron,  with  its  pantaloons  so  tightly  keyed  up, 
is  one  of  my  most  intimate  friends  of  the  rice 
flats  of  Choson. 

Nearly  three  months  had  passed,  and  I  was  to 
leave  early  next  morning  for  the  capital,  via  the 
Yellow  sea.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  for 
this  time  I  had  heard  no  English,  had  seen  none 
of  my  countrymen,  had  been  living  in  circum- 
stances so  uninviting,  there  was  still  an  element 
of  sadness  in  the  thought  of  leaving  the  place, 
perhaps  never  to  return.  From  the  mandarin 
himself  down  to  the  coolies  I  had  seen  enough 
to  know  that  there  are  gentlemen  in  every  na- 
tion. They  may  wear  a  startling  cut  of  dress ; 
they  may  believe  that  the  world  is  flat  and  that 
the  sun  revolves  around  Korea ;  they  may,  in 
the  sultry  days  of  summer,  have  a  weakness  for 
dogflesh — and  yet  differ  much  less  than  we  im- 
agine from  the  average  American. 

Long  since  the  town  with  its  inhabitants  had 


34  Korean  Sketches 

grown  familiar.  Even  the  dogs  seldom  gave 
more  than  a  passing  glance  or  growl,  while  the 
little  boys  would  smile  at  me  in  proof  that  our 
treaty  of  peace  was  genuine. 

Among  those  who  at  the  last  came  to  bid  me 
go  in  peace,  were  two  characters  somewhat  re- 
markable. One  was  the  city  physician,  who 
though  of  few  words,  was  looked  upon  by  the 
people  as  a  man  mighty  in  thought.  As  for 
himself,  he  felt  that  he  was  a  unit  in  space, 
having  neither  father  nor  mother,  wife  nor 
child.  His  name  was  Mr.  Moon.  I  remem- 
bered it  without  difficulty,  as  the  placid  brow 
and  far-away  expression  of  the  face  reminded 
me  of  that  fair  orb.  He  had  a  profound  way 
when  alone  of  talking  and  gesticulating  with 
himself.  At  such  times  no  doubt  his  thoughts 
were  deeply  professional.  Only  once  did  he 
venture  to  speak  to  me  of  his  experience,  more 
particularly  in  the  line  of  surgery.  I  asked  if 
he  would  show  me  his  stock  of  instruments, 
that  I  might  compare  them  with  those  of  the 
West.  At  once  he  took  from  a  cloth  wrapper 
at  his  side  a  wooden  case.  Inside  of  this, 
wrapped  carefully  in  paper,  were  two  murder- 
ous-looking prongs,  such  as  I  had  seen  boys  at 
home  use  in  eel-fishing.  I  inquired  as  to  how 
he  used  them.  There  was  no  reply,  but  taking 
one  in  his  hand,  he  suddenly  made  a  fierce, 
short  gesture,  between  a  guard  and  a  thrust,  ac- 


First  Impressions  35 

companied  by  a  flash  of  lightning  in  his  eye ; 
that  explained  it  all.  No  wonder  I  had  heard 
frantic  cries  by  night  in  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Moon's. 

For  convulsions  he  found  that  a  burning  ball 
of  moxa  punk,  or  a  red-hot  cash  piece  placed  on 
the  child's  head  some  two  inches  above  the  brow, 
and  left  till  it  had  burned  sizzling  into  the  bone, 
served  as  a  never  failing  remedy.  A  poultice  of 
cow  excrement  was  good  for  certain  sores.  Epi- 
demics he  regarded  as  taxes  that  were  due  the 
great  spirits,  especially  on  the  part  of  children, 
and  the  more  gladly  they  paid  them  the  sooner 
the  spirit  would  be  pacified.  He  was  a  marvel, 
was  Dr.  Moon,  at  acupuncture.  He  had  probed 
into  every  joint  of  the  human  body,  and  could 
run  his  long  needle  into  unexplored  regions  two 
and  three  inches.  *'If  you  do  it  badly,"  said 
he,  *'  the  patient  dies." 

In  medicine  his  great  success  had  rested  on 
the  classification  of  diseases  under  two  heads, 
desperate  cases,  and  general  weakness.  For 
the  latter,  he  prescribed  pills  made  from  tiger 
bones.  He  reasoned  logically  that  as  the  tiger 
is  the  strongest  animal,  and  the  bones  the 
strongest  part  of  him,  consequently  such  pills 
must  be  strengthening  in  any  case.  For  the 
former,  he  had  a  solemn  mixture  that  he  spoke 
of  with  bated  breath.  It  was  made  of  snakes 
and  toads  and  centipedes  carefully  boiled  to- 


36  Korean  Sketches 

gether,  and  warranted  without  fail  to  kill  or 
cure. 

For  more  specific  cases  he  had  a  list  of  medi- 
cine that  ran  thus :  Musk  sack  for  melan- 
choly, beef's  gall  for  digestion,  bear's  gall  for 
the  liver,  dragon  teeth  for  the  heart,  caterpil- 
lars for  bronchitis,  maggots  for  delirium,  dried 
snake  and  cicada  skins  for  cholic. 

Such  was  Dr.  Moon  as  he  sat  in  my  room 
day  after  day  a  professional  smile  playing  over 
his  features.  I  realized  that  he  was  no  ordi- 
nary mortal,  but  one  of  the  few  remarkable 
men  that  I  had  been  privileged  to  know. 

The  second,  a  less  scientific  character,  whose 
good-bye  I  appreciated  even  more,  was  Mr. 
Quak.  My  attention  was  first  called  to  him 
one  afternoon  during  a  disturbance.  As  I 
looked  out,  I  saw  Quak  swinging  a  heavy  club 
through  the  air,  threatening  the  life  of  my  best 
Korean  friend.  By  a  little  explanation  I  man- 
aged to  prevent  bloodshed ;  all  quieted  down, 
and  ever  after  Quak  and  I  were  friends. 

As  a  coolie  he  fairly  represented  his  class, 
and  yet  there  was  an  air  about  him  peculiarly 
his  own.  He  talked  frequently  without  taking 
the  pipe  from  his  mouth,  or  smoked  it  bowl 
downward  in  a  free  and  defiant  manner.  He 
combed  his  hair  once  a  month ;  and  it  was  said 
he  washed  at  New  Year — as  to  the  latter  I  have 
some  doubts.     His  working  dress  was  a  pair  of 


First  Impressions  37 

wide  pantaloons  that  came  to  the  knees,  no 
coat,  no  hat,  no  boots.  He  did  not  need  these, 
for  though  he  ate  only  rice,  he  was  brawny 
as  Tubal  Cain.  Quak  came  regularly  to  our 
Christian  meetings  and  listened  reverently.  He 
thought  this  religion  a  very  good  thing,  but  as 
it  did  not  come  exactly  in  the  carrying  line,  it 
never  could  be  his  specialt3^ 

The  curse  of  Korea  is  that  it  has  so  few  work- 
ing men.  It  is  a  nation  that  has  wasted  away 
in  idleness.  It  is  therefore  refreshing  to  find 
one  whose  hands  are  hard  with  toil ;  and  such 
was  Quak. 

One  day  a  Korean  friend  and  I,  upon  near- 
ing  a  mountain  pass,  saw  a  coolie  coming  with 
an  immense  load  of  brushwood  on  his  back. 
"  Surely  that  is  Quak,"  I  said ;  and  Quak  it 
turned  out  to  be,  laboring  under  the  hot  sun, 
but  able,  notwithstanding  his  burden,  to  greet 
us  with  an  Asiatic  smile.  I  said :  "Quak,  most 
a  mile  away  I  thought  it  was  you."  He  never 
forgot  the  kindness  of  being  thought  of  by  a 
foreigner  for  "most  a  mile." 

On  leaving  that  town  the  morning  above 
mentioned,  quite  a  number  of  middle  and  up- 
per class  gentlemen,  spectacled  and  dressed  in 
Eastern  fashion,  came  to  see  me  off.  Among 
them,  however,  was  one  whose  uncombed,  sun- 
burned head,  contrasted  strangely  with  the 
others,  but  whose  "  go-in-peace  "  was  as  genu- 


38  Korean  Sketches 

ine  as  any.  He  disappeared  among  the  trees; 
as  far  as  I  know,  the  last  of  Quak  forever. 

We  had  to  make  some  two  hundred  miles 
southeastward  across  this  part  of  the  Yellow 
sea.  Our  boat  was  waiting  for  us,  backed  up 
against  a  sandbar. 

An  Eastern  leave-taking  is  quite  touching. 
This  company  of  white  coats  stood  on  the  land- 
ing, bowing  farewell  to  the  first  Westerner  who 
had  ever  lived  for  any  length  of  time  among 
them.  I  really  appreciated  their  kindness, 
though  I  fear  I  expressed  it  awkwardly.  A 
moment  later,  I  was  aboard  the  junk,  up  went 
the  sail  and  we  were  off  to  sea. 

The  craft  beneath  us  was  neither  barque  nor 
schooner.  She  carried  a  prodigious  mast  that 
seemed  to  sweep  the  sky.  I  had  learned  in 
schoolboy  days  something  about  *'  a  good  ship 
tight  and  free,"  which  I  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  associating  with  everything  that  carried  a 
sail.  A  little  closer  examination,  however, 
proved  there  was  no  room  for  poetry  about 
this  craft.  Her  creaking  joints  and  deca3^ed 
timbers  gave  evidence  that  she  had  entered 
upon  a  decline  that  was  likely  to  be  brief. 
The  only  thing  that  at  all  reassured  me,  was 
the  old  man  at  the  helm,  who  would  have  made 
an  excellent  representative  for  the  ancient  mar- 
iner. 

Though  the  boat  measured  only  about  eight 


First  Impressions  39 

feet  by  twenty,  there  were  in  addition  to    a 
crew  of  three,  six  Korean  passengers  aboard. 

The  old  sailor  had  fitted  up  for  my  special 
benefit  a  stateroom  under  the  after  part  of  the 
deck.  A  view  of  this  apartment  was  obtained 
by  lifting  the  lid  and  peering  in  on  hands  and 
knees.  The  first  thing  I  noticed  were  two  or 
three  rabbits  fenced  oft'  in  one  corner,  evidently 
bound  for  the  capital.  An,  who  was  still  with 
me,  remarked,  "We  thought  you  would  not 
object  to  these  T'ok-ki  (rabbits).  They  were 
imported  from  China,  and  we  wish  to  take  good 
care  of  them."  I  said,  "An,  I  have  no  ob- 
jection to  China,  but  I  have  to  these  rabbits ; 
please  get  them  out  of  this."  They  were  at 
once  shifted  forward  where  they  took  a  steerage 
passage  for  the  remainder  of  the  journey. 

The  stateroom  was  about  the  size  and  shape 
of  a  coffin,  and  when  the  hatches  were  closed, 
as  dark  as  the  grave  itself.  The  pilot  spread 
his  mat  and  sat  just  above.  My  dreams  during 
the  voyage  were  more  or  less  of  the  nature  of 
suffocation,  varying  as  the  old  man  shifted  his 
position  to  admit  or  retard  the  approach  of 
fresh  air  through  the  chinks.  Though  I  lacked 
oxygen,  1  was  more  than  supplied  with  quanti- 
ties of  dust  that  sifted  through,  affording  ample 
material  for  breathing. 

The   breeze    that   had   carried    us  for   some 
miles  seaward,  now  suddenly  died  away,  leav- 


40  Korean  Sketches 

ing  us  becalmed  not  far  from  an  island  that  I 
had  seen  indistinctly  from  the  shore.  There 
was  no  help  for  it  but  to  pull  in  and  await  the 
tide  of  the  following  morning.  A  Korean 
sailor  must  have  both  wind  and  tide  in  his 
favor  before  he  thinks  of  moving.  With  either 
of  these  a  few  points  astray,  he  hauls  down  the 
sail  and  drops  anchor.  No  man,  unless  he  be  a 
marvel  of  patience,  can  ever  travel  successfully 
by  way  of  the  Yellow  sea. 

The  little  island  that  we  were  approaching 
looked  quite  picturesque  alone  in  the  water.  A 
mile  or  so  in  circumference,  it  towered  to  a 
high  cliff  at  one  end ;  while  at  the  other,  it 
sloped  gently  down  to  the  sea,  A  village  of 
seven  huts  was  built  on  the  beach  just  above 
high  water  level.  In  front  of  these  were  the 
usual  groups  of  white  coated  natives  smoking 
their  pipes  and  guessing  to  themselves  what 
kind  of  cargo  this  ship  would  bring.  The  chief 
man  turned  out  to  be  a  Mr.  Kim,  whom  I  had 
met  not  long  before  on  the  mainland,  and  who 
had  made  his  home  out  here  to  carry  on  fish- 
ing. At  once  I  was  among  friends.  They  took 
me  to  the  cliff  top  where  I  had  a  bird's  eye 
view  of  their  island.  Round  about  it  was  a  reef 
of  boulders  over  which  the  tide,  night  and  day, 
tumbled  its  waters  ;  on  its  slope  were  fields  of 
rice  and  barley ;  while  far  beneath  were  caves 
that  echoed  with  croaking  sea  fowl. 


SOME    OF    THE    INHABITANTS. 


THE    HOPE    OF    THE    NATION. 


First  Impressions  4,1 

Then  I  was  hurried  off  to  dinner,  Kim  ex- 
pressing his  regrets  the  meanwhile  that  he  had 
nothing  better  to  set  before  me.  The  room  into 
which  I  crawled  was,  as  usual,  low  and  stuffy. 
I  had  seen  enough  of  Korean  hospitality  to  ex- 
pect a  sumptuous  dinner,  notwithstanding  Mr. 
Kim's  regrets.  And  so  it  was,  for  a  set  of 
tables  loaded  with  everything  the  sea  could 
provide  were  placed  before  me.  There  were 
white  fish  and  black  fish,  fish  that  looked  all 
tails,  eels  as  boneless  and  slippery  as  a  China- 
man, double-breasted,  armor-plated  crabs  and 
lobsters.  I  ate  them  without  question  as  to 
their  place  in  the  modern  theory  of  evolution, 
and  found  them  very  palatable.  Good-hearted 
Kim  said  I  had  done  him  honor  and  put  him 
under  deep  obligation  by  eating  of  his  homely 
fare. 

The  afternoon  was  spent  exploring  caves  by 
torchlight.  The  natives  were  delighted  by  the 
echo  of  a  revolver  shot  underground. 

As  the  evening  came  on  I  was  asked  to  join 
a  party  who  were  going  out  to  haul  in  fishing 
nets.  These  nets  were  hung  on  a  wooden 
framework  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  shore, 
and  were  visited  twice  a  day  at  ebb  tide.  Eight 
men  propelled  the  boat  by  a  long  oar  from  the 
stern.  We  soon  crossed  the  intervening  water, 
passed  under  a  number  of  low  cables  support- 
ing the  frame,  and  then  began  the  haul.     The 


42  Korean  Sketches 

best  of  those  taken  belonged  to  the  flounder 
and  turbot  species,  flat  monsters  that  whipped 
the  salt  sea  through  the  air  in  such  a  way  as  to 
blind  us. 

As  we  were  returning,  I  asked  the  boatmen 
to  sing,  to  which  they  responded  in  true 
Korean  fashion.  One  would  pipe  up  a  peculiar 
quavering  solo,  and  then  would  follow  a  thun- 
dering chorus  that  kept  time  to  the  swinging  of 
the  oar.  Until  late  at  night  they  sat  talking 
round  a  fire  kindled  on  the  beach.  The  flames 
lighting  up  the  dusky  group  gave  another  char- 
acteristic picture  of  life  in  the  Hermit  King- 
dom. Here  they  lived,  cut  off  from  the  world, 
ignorant  of  everything,  full  of  superstition,  and 
yet  having  that  highest  of  human  virtues — sym- 
pathy and  love  for  fellow  mortals. 

I  was  recalled  to  consciousness  by  the  matter- 
of-fact  voice  of  An,  who  informed  me  that  he 
had  everything  prepared  in  perfect  order  to 
sleep.  Quite  a  large  room  was  awaiting  us.  I 
found  it  by  actual  measurement  to  be  about 
fourteen  feet  long,  eight  feet  wide,  and  six  feet 
high ;  but  as  the  accommodation  of  the  village 
was  limited.  An  asked  if  he  might  sleep  in  the 
same  room  and  bring  a  friend  or  two  as  well. 
"Friend,  who?"  I  asked.  "Messrs.  Choi,  So, 
Yi  and  a  few  more."  My  heart  sank  as  I 
thought  of  all  these  natives  in  that  stuffy  room. 
"  Bring   them  in,   of  course ! "     A  new  straw 


First  Impressions  43 

mat  was  spread  out  at  one  end  that  looked 
quite  inviting.  I  sat  down  and  waited  till 
these  men  ranged  themselves  in  a  row,  while 
An  secured  the  door  and  window  as  though  he 
feared  a  tiger  raid. 

Not  until  I  had  lain  down  for  a  little,  did  I 
realize  that  they  had  built  a  tremendous  fire  in 
the  stoke  hole  {agung\  and  that  the  floor  was 
getting  hotter  and  hotter.  A  little  later  I 
shook  An  up,  and  we  held  a  consultation. 
"  Why  ever  did  you  put  on  a  fire  such  a  warm 
night  as  this?  I'll  roast  to  death  here."  An 
who  had  been  asleep,  took  a  few  minutes  to  re- 
alize where  he  was,  and  then  said  the  pro- 
prietor's wife  had  done  it  in  spite  of  his  injunc- 
tions to  the  contrary.  "  But  never  mind,"  said 
An,  '*  I'll  fix  it  all  right."  He  then  roused  the 
others,  gathered  what  mats  he  could,  and  made 
me  a  bed  among  the  rice  bags  as  far  distant  as 
possible  from  the  fire,  while  the  Koreans  turned 
themselves  over  to  the  heated  part,  saying  it 
was  just  the  proper  temperature  for  them  to 
sleep  comfortably. 

Toward  morning  I  awoke  partially,  with  a 
feeling  of  suffocation.  Though  my  head  seemed 
to  have  grown  to  an  enormous  size,  I  was  with- 
out understanding  as  to  where  I  was  or  what 
was  the  matter.  With  a  movement  that  cost 
an  exceeding  great  effort  I  sat  up,  and  then  the 
situation  dawned  upon  me.     An  was  out  in  a 


44  Korean  Sketches 

flash  and  had  the  door  and  window  open.  An 
hour  or  so  later  I  walked  down  to  the  boat, 
feeling  as  though  I  had  been  exhumed  from  a 
burial  where  all  but  putrifaction  had  set  in. 
This  was  An's  greatest  failure.  I  regarded  him 
as  the  survivors  of  the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta 
regarded  Suraja  Dowlah. 

The  wind  and  tide  were  fair.  Soon  the  junk 
was  flying  over  the  water,  carrying  us  far  out 
to  sea,  leaving  in  the  distance  his  island  home 
and  the  white  friendly  figure  of  Mr.  Kim. 

This  was  the  only  day  on  which  we  continued 
to  make  good  time.  I  was  amazed  at  the 
youthful  way  the  decrepit  junk  ploughed  along 
through  the  water.  By  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  we  had  left  familiar  shore  out  of 
sight  and  were  nearing  an  island  called  Teung- 
san.  Here  we  dropped  anchor.  The  island 
was  too  large  to  be  measured  at  a  glance.  Its 
thickly  wooded  hills  overlooking  the  village 
surpassed  in  beauty  anything  I  had  yet  seen  in 
Korea. 

Hearing  that  a  chbmsa,  a  mandarin  of  mili- 
tary rank,  resided  on  the  island,  I  took  An  and 
went  ashore  to  have  an  interview  if  possible. 
Arriving  at  the  gate  quarters,  we  were  stopped 
by  the  guard  who  would  neither  give  entrance 
nor  look  at  my  passport,  thinking  no  doubt 
that  I  was  a  creature  from  some  infernal  region. 
After  a  little  explanation  from  the  all-prevailing 


First  Impressions  ^^ 

An,  we  were  stationed  in  the  outer  guest  cham- 
ber. In  a  moment  every  available  space  of 
door  and  window  was  taken  up  by  a  multitude 
of  peering  faces,  with  as  many  questions,  which 
An  refused  to  answer  until  we  had  seen  the 
mandarin. 

One  of  the  guards  returned,  and  announced 
in  tremendous  voice  that  his  excellency  was 
ready.  To  a  Western  mind  the  formality  of 
the  Oriental  is  quite  overpowering.  Poor  old 
Orient !  It  reminds  one  somewhat  of  the 
tramp,  whose  training  and  early  opportunities 
were  the  best  that  could  be  given,  but  who, 
through  the  evils  of  drink  and  the  misfortunes 
of  his  lot,  has  sunk  to  rags  and  destitution ; 
nevertheless  the  poise  of  his  head  and  a  some- 
thing in  his  manner,  mark  him  a  gentleman  still. 

The  presence  of  the  official  was  at  first  dis- 
appointing. He  was  trembling  visibly,  and 
his  voice  was  so  unsteady  that  he  could  scarcely 
speak.  The  reason  I  cannot  tell,  unless  it  be 
explained  by  his  statement  afterward,  that  no 
foreigner  had  ever  visited  the  island  before, 
and  that  while  he  had  heard  of  them,  he  had 
never  seen  one.  I  had  the  task  before  me  of 
disabusing  his  mind,  and  of  leaving  a  good 
impression  of  the  foreign  world  in  general. 
What  An  thought  of  it  all,  I  know  not,  as  I 
never  managed  to  probe  so  deeply  into  his  soul. 
The  Chomsa  proved  to  be  a  very  genial  gentle- 


46  Korean  Sketches 

man,  had  me  stay  to  dinner  with  him,  and  re- 
galed me  with  stewed  cuttlefish  and  honey 
water.  He  walked  with  us  along  the  wooded 
pathway  back  to  the  boat,  remarking  how  won- 
derful it  was  that  nations  differing  so  widely  in 
appearance  should  yet  at  heart  be  the  same. 

Next  morning  I  was  awakened  by  the  sound 
of  drums.  Had  it  been  one  drum,  I  would  have 
thought  nothing  of  it,  but  an  army  of  drum- 
mers is  an  oddity  in  any  land ;  so  I  climbed  on 
deck  to  see  what  it  meant.  Circling  the  bay 
was  a  line  of  boats  at  anchor.  Aboard  each  of 
these  was  a  Korean  sailor  beating  with  two 
drumsticks  as  though  his  life  depended  on  it. 
Our  own  boat  was  no  exception,  for  the  round 
faced  boy,  whom  the  ancient  mariner  called 
Yobokki,  was  taking  part  in  this  morning  exer- 
cise. 

Though  at  a  loss  to  know  what  this  meant,  as 
I  had  never  before  witnessed  such  a  sight,  I 
felt  interested  in  the  apparent  contest  that  was 
going  on,  and  charmed  at  the  manner  in  which 
Yobokki  did  his  part.  "  I'll  ask  An  when  he 
gets  up  what  it  means,'*  I  thought. 

An  was  what  Koreans  call  a  "  difficult " 
man,  especially  in  the  morning.  The  chances 
were  against  one's  getting  any  valuable  infor- 
mation out  of  him  before  ten  o'clock;  but  as 
my  curiosity  was  aroused  I  met  him  when 
scarcely  awake  with  the  question  as  to  what  all 


First  Impressions  47 

the  drumming  meant.  "It  don't  mean  any- 
thing," said  An.  "Well  now,  it  is  rather  pe- 
culiar," I  remarked,  "  that  Koreans  should  work 
so  hard,  so  early  in  the  morning,  and  all  for 
nothing."  Mr.  So,  one  of  our  travelling  com- 
panions, knowing  something  of  An's  peculiar 
nature,  said  he  would  tell  me,  which  he  did  very 
nicely.  It  is  a  custom  among  Korean  sailors, 
when  signs  of  rough  weather  appear  to  beat 
drums  in  prayer,  that  the  god  of  storms  may 
quiet  the  sea  and  send  them  in  safety.  It  had 
not  occurred  to  me  to  think  of  it  in  any  such 
connection. 

It  was  indeed  a  time  for  men  to  pray. 
Scarcely  had  we  been  two  hours  on  the  open 
sea  that  morning,  when  ragged  looking  mists 
came  down  upon  us  as  though  a  typhoon  were 
on  the  way.  The  wind  would  whistle  as  it  used 
to  on  stormy  nights  at  home.  I  kept  an  eye  on 
the  old  man  at  the  helm,  to  see  if  possible  in 
his  wintry  face  some  announcement  of  what 
was  coming;  but  no  signal  was  given,  except  an 
occasional  glance  at  the  sail,  or  a  quiet  order  to 
Yobokki.  On  we  scudded  ;  the  mists  at  times 
lifting  would  show  white  caps  in  all  directions. 
The  Koreans,  one  by  one,  went  below,  as  they 
expressed  it,  "  mopsi  apioh  "  (miserably  sick). 

As  a  choice  of  two  evils  I  remained  on  deck, 
though  the  salt  spray  was  flying  everywhere. 
Never  have  I  gone  so  fast,  when  time,  on  the 


48  Korean  Sketches 

other  hand,  seemed  to  go  so  slow.  At  each 
plunge  the  boat  echoed  as  though  the  waves 
she  rode  were  armor-plated,  while  the  centre 
joints  at  the  bending  of  the  mast,  gaped  omi- 
nously. The  storm  is  increasing  I  know,  but 
what  Yobokki  is  about  I  fail  to  understand. 
With  the  help  of  the  other  sailor  he  is  bringing 
rice  and  fish  on  deck.  What  can  he  mean? 
Do  they  intend  to  dine  in  the  teeth  of  the 
raging  elements  ?  But  no  I  This  is  not  to  be 
food  for  mortal  man.  Gripping  the  deck  to 
hold  themselves  in  place,  they  join  in  repeating 
a  prayer,  and  then  begin  pouring  rice  and  fish 
over  the  side  to  propitiate  the  monster  who  is 
hungering  for  us. 

For  an  hour  or  so  longer  we  ploughed  on 
expecting  each  moment  to  swamp  or  pitch 
headlong  onto  a  reef.  But  suddenly,  to  my 
surprise,  we  found  ourselves  in  calmer  water. 
Not  that  the  wind  had  gone  down,  for  we  still 
heard  the  water  roaring  behind  us;  but  as  we 
saw  now  through  the  scattering  mists,  we  were 
under  the  lee  of  an  island.  I  glanced  at  the 
old  man  to  see  if  there  was  any  look  of  sur- 
prise in  his  face  on  finding  thus  unexpectedly  a 
haven  of  safety,  but  not  a  trace  of  any  such  ex- 
pression was  there.  He  looked  as  though  he 
had  struck  the  exact  point  that  he  had  been 
making  for  for  hours.  He  never  saw  fine- 
toothed  comb  or  hair  brush,  and  yet  he  had 


First  Impressions  49 

proven  himself  to  be  a  level-headed  old  man. 
Eastern  storms  are  violent  and  of  short  duration. 
That  evening  it  quieted  down  sufficiently  to  let 
us  make  the  mainland  some  miles  to  the  north. 

We  cast  anchor  before  a  desolate  looking  vil- 
lage. I  went  ashore  with  An  to  have  a  walk 
but  was  followed  by  such  a  crowd  of  sightseers 
that  we  had  to  take  refuge  in  a  public  house. 
Here,  too,  we  were  almost  smothered  in  the 
crush. 

The  leading  characters  in  the  place  seemed  to 
be  a  number  of  clarion  voiced  females,  who, 
setting  all  Korean  etiquette  at  defiance,  came 
forth  bold  as  Caesar  to  cross-question  me.  One 
able-bodied  Amazon,  smoking  a  long  pipe, 
pushed  to  the  front,  saying,  "  I'm  going  to  have 
a  look  at  him — wouldn't  they  want  to  see  me 
if  I  were  in  his  country?"  Here  I  was  con- 
fronted by  one  who,  like  John  Knox,  feared  not 
the  face  of  man.  It  was  for  me  to  reply  in  ac- 
cents humble  and  low. 

At  this  point  An  remarked  that  they  were  a 
low  rabble  and  that  we  had  better  go  aboard. 

My  heart  gave  no  response  of  joy  at  the 
thought  of  going  back  to  the  junk.  Its  com- 
forts had  grown  stale.  Our  food  was  rice 
boiled  in  a  mixture  of  salt  sea  water,  and  fish 
that  had  lain  on  deck  till  age  and  sunshine  had 
more  than  seasoned  it.  Insects  too  were  waging 
war  upon  us. 


50  Korean  Sketches 

A  night  and  a  day  brought  no  relief.  Thirty- 
six  hours  later  we  were  still  sticking  fast  in 
the  mud  flat  where  the  tide  had  left  us.  Time 
dragged  along  slowly.  I  had  talked  to  the 
Koreans  of  everything  in  heaven  above  and 
earth  beneath  that  I  could  get  within  the  limits 
of  my  vocabulary ;  had  watched,  till  I  was 
tired,  the  slimy  things  that  live  in  the  sea 
crawling  through  the  mud ;  had  asked  how  far 
it  was  by  land  to  the  capital  and  found  it  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  and  no  horses  to  be  had. 

At  last  the  evening  of  the  fifth  day  brought 
relief.  Once  more  we  put  to  sea,  the  sail  full 
of  wind  and  the  old  man  at  the  helm.  That 
night  we  made  famous  time,  for  in  the  morning, 
eastward,  we  saw  distinctly  the  hills  of  Kycing- 
keui  province.  We  had  entered  a  peculiar 
part  of  the  sea,  where  the  rise  and  fall  of  the 
tide  is  so  great  that  at  low  water  sand  flats 
stretch  in  all  directions  with  only  salt  rivers 
running  here  and  there  between. 

It  was  a  bright,  pleasant  day  ;  every  man 
was  on  deck  happy.  Even  An  smiled.  We 
were  told,  that  if  the  wind  kept  fair  we  would 
make  Chemulpo  by  night.  I  had  faith  in  the 
old  man,  for  I  had  seen  that  he  had  had  long 
experience  in  these  waters ;  one  might  easily 
have  put  it  at  a  hundred  years,  judging  from 
his  clothes  or  the  wrinkles  on  his  brow. 

We  kept  on  following  the  course  of  one  of 


First  Impressions  fi 

these  deep  sea  rivers,  until  the  returning  tide 
lifted  us  into  open  water.  With  the  close  of 
the  afternoon  we  sighted  the  foreign  settlement 
on  the  hills  at  Chemulpo,  reposing  in  peace 
under  the  beneficent  wavings  of  the  Union 
Jack  and  the  Star  Spangled  Banner. 

My  rejoicings  at  being  once  more  in  Western 
civilization  were  moderated  by  the  thought  of 
having  to  leave  the  ancient  mariner  and  all 
who  had  shared  my  joys  and  sorrows.  On 
reaching  shore,  beyond  the  regular  fare,  I  di- 
vided among  them  the  immense  sounding  sum 
of  one  thousand  cash,  being  about  twelve  and 
a-half  cents  for  each  sailor,  and  twenty-five  for 
the  shaggy  old  skipper.  He  seemed  deeply 
moved,  as  he  told  me  of  the  pride  he  had  taken 
in  this  voyage  and  that  I  would  be  remem- 
bered by  him  for  as  many  years  as  his  hand 
might  hold  the  rudder. 

A  little  later  the  boat  set  sail  and  the  mists 
closed  down  upon  the  water.  It  was  the  last  of 
the  ancient  mariner ;  and  An  also  with  his  pe- 
culiarities had  sailed  away. 


II 

THE   COOLIE 

Few  subjects  present  more  of  interest  to  a 
foreigner  in  Korea  than  the  coolie.  He  it  is, 
who  alone  exhibits  in  his  person  those  peculiari- 
ties that  have  been  smothered  out  of  his  race 
by  fumes  of  Confucianism.  The  Koreans  hav- 
ing inhaled  this  teaching  from  childhood,  have 
gradually  lost  their  natural  traits  and  have  be- 
come more  and  more  artificial,  ever  striving  to 
mortify  the  man  that  they  are,  and  to  put  on 
for  new  man,  a  ghost  of  antiquity.  The  coolie, 
however,  is  not  in  any  such  bondage,  but  ex- 
hibits a  host  of  characteristics  that  make  him 
in  some  respects  the  most  interesting  figure  in 
the  land  of  Morning  Calm. 

From  the  first  glimpse  you  have  of  him  you 
recognize  that  he  is  a  creature  of  repose.  Noth- 
ing should  be  more  restful  to  a  nervous,  im})a- 
tient  foreigner,  than  the  sight  of  a  coolie  by 
the  wayside,  sitting  on  his  heels,  or  as  Ave 
generally  say,  squatting,  (sometimes  long  rows 
of  them),  motionless  as  sea-fowl,  indiiferent  to 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  to  the  flies  that  congregate 
upon  him,  or  to  the  pestiferous  gutters  that 
ooze  beneath  his  feet. 

52 


The  Coolie  53 

While  other  mortals  are  in  constant  commo- 
tion, fearful  of  this  and  that,  yet  aching  for 
change,  the  Korean  coolie  continues  immovable 
throughout  the  ages,  the  muscles  of  his  heels 
never  growing  tired,  inhaling  all  the  while  at- 
mospheres that  would  depopulate  a  Western 
city,  or  by  way  of  diversion,  eating  melons 
rind  and  all,  in  the  face  of  cholera  and  other 
Egyptian  plagues. 

It  is  an  atmosphere  of  repose  rather  than  in- 
difference, that  envelopes  him.  Indifference 
suggests  an  evironment  with  which  one  is  not 
in  harmony,  while  repose  indicates  perfect 
agreement.  Not  only  can  he  sit  in  a  painful 
position  for  hours,  but  he  can  sleep  with  head 
down  and  mouth  wide  open  under  the  fiercest 
sun  of  the  Orient,  and  rise  as  refreshed  as 
though  he  had  had  a  night  on  a  spring  mattress, 
followed  by  a  morning  bath.  This  is  proof  that 
it  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference  with  him,  else 
he  would  have  had  sunstroke.  The  fact  that  he 
rises  refreshed  to  enjoy  his  pipe,  proves  it  re- 
pose. 

Undoubtedly,  he  is  the  greatest  living  ex- 
ample of  the  absence  of  all  excitement  or  an- 
i mated  interest  of  any  kind  whatever.  He  can 
eat  an  astounding  dish  of  pap  (rice),  and  be 
asleep  with  his  head  on  a  wooden  block  in  less 
time  than  a  foreigner  requires  to  trim  his  tooth- 
pick.    Nothing  short  of  a  bowl  of  vermicelli 


54  Korean  Sketches 

(kuh'Su^y  or  the  crack  of  doom,  can  create  the 
slightest  interest  in  him  or  prove  that  he  has 
nerves  at  all. 

This  characteristic,  while  highly  to  be  com- 
mended in  some  respects,  has  frequently  proven 
a  source  of  difference  between  the  coolie  and 
the  foreigner.  The  latter  pro  ad  of  his  watch- 
word— action,  runs  full  tilt  into  the  coolie  who 
sits  heavy  in  repose.  It  is  like  a  railway  train 
taking  a  header  for  a  mud  embankment — news- 
papers announce  next  day,  "  Smash  up  " — not 
of  the  embankment,  but  of  the  railway  train. 

In  view  of  this  danger  to  the  foreigner,  the 
coolie  has  of  late  years  done  considerable  to 
change  his  waj^s,  although  of  course,  even  in 
foreign  employ  he  still  experiences  old  sensa- 
tions, and  at  times  falls  into  his  native  repose. 

Only  once  do  I  recollect  seeing  marked  ani- 
mation in  coolies'  eyes.  It  was  at  a  stone  fight, 
such  as  they  used  to  indulge  in  in  the  brave 
days  of  old.  Several  hundred  of  the  best 
marksmen  of  the  capital  chose  sides,  and  armed 
with  stones  weighing  one  and  two  pounds  each, 
assembled  for  the  fray.  When  I  arrived, 
missiles  were  flying  through  the  air,  any  one  of 
which  would  have  done  for  a  man  as  easily  as  a 
fifty  pound  projectile.  All  were  alive  to  the 
danger,  and  the  rush  and  scramble  to  escape 
was  like  a  stampede  of  wild  beasts.  The 
throwing  was  magnificent.     It  seemed,  in  truth, 


The  Coolie  j;_j 

a  little  war  of  giants.  The  fight  grew  fast 
and  furious.  Begrimed  with  dust  and  sweat 
each  side  drew  in  closer,  and  sent  rocks  flying 
through  the  air  in  a  way  that  was  simply  ap- 
palling. Then  came  a  shock  of  cessation,  a 
shout  as  though  a  goal  were  scored  ;  one  of  the 
best  marksmen  of  the  enemy  had  been  struck 
squarely,  and  was  killed.  His  body  was  carried 
off  the  field,  and  again  the  fight  began.  Before 
evening  closed  one  had  fallen  on  the  other  side, 
and  thus  the  score  was  even. 

Such  is  the  coolie,  and  yet  a  gentler,  more 
lamb -like  creature  never  lived.  Apart  from 
this  one  ancient  custom  he  is  peace  itself;  even 
his  personal  wars  are  merely  threatenings. 
One  of  the  amusing  sights  of  the  street  is  a 
fight — the  combatants  of  course  always  being 
coolies,  as  no  gentleman  would  soil  his  gar- 
ments who  had  a  servant  to  engage  for  him.  It 
usually  begins  in  dispute,  passes  through  differ- 
ent stages,  each  marked  by  a  special  pitch  of 
voice  and  rapidity  of  utterance,  and  at  last  ends 
in  a  climax  of  fury.  A  perfect  stream  of  in- 
vectives is  poured  forth,  accompanied  by  appeals 
to  men  and  aii^'ols  to  behold  the  object  of  de- 
pravity. A  foi'cigiier  is  horrified,  convinced  as 
he  is  that  noohing  short  of  one  life  can  relieve 
the  pent-up  condition  of  affairs ;  when  sud- 
denly the  v/hole  case  collapses,  and  the  com- 
batants  are   seen   on   each  end  of  the  piazza, 


56  Korean  Sketches 

smoking  as  peacefully  as  if  all  within  the  four 
seas  were  brothers. 

The  question  has  often  arisen,  Is  the  Korean 
coolie  an  arrant  coward,  or  is  he  the  bravest 
man  alive  since  Jack  the  Giant  Killer?  Evi- 
dence is  not  lacking  for  the  support  of  either 
supposition.  On  the  first  announcement  of  the 
Japan- China  war,  we  saw  him  with  personal 
effects  on  his  back  and  considerable  animation 
in  his  walk,  making  for  the  hills.  We  have 
seen  him  too,  in  the  capacity  of  trespasser, 
being  whipped  out  of  a  compound  with  a  small 
willow  switch,  and  wilting  under  the  blows  as 
though  they  had  been  sword  cuts,  repeating 
with  imploring  look,  "Aigo!  You've  killed  me! 
you've  killed  me  !  " 

I  once  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  small  for- 
eigner of  hast}^  temperament  marshalling  his 
men  on  a  journey.  The  coolies  he  had  were 
noted  for  strength,  rather  than  agility,  and  as 
speed  was  the  chief  consideration,  friction  re- 
sulted. Matters  came  to  a  climax  at  last,  and 
the  small  foreigner  made  a  round  of  those  coolies 
with  his  right  foot,  spreading  consternation  at 
every  kick.  No  great  damage  was  done,  as  a 
Korean's  padded  dress  serves  much  as  a  bird's 
plumage  would,  under  a  similar  form  of  attack. 
The  group  bowed  to  the  inevitable,  simply  re- 
marking of  the  foreigner,  that  an  offspring  of 


The  Coolie 


57 


his  kind  was   a   caution    {Keu   nomeui   ehasik 
mahnanio). 

But  there  exists  just  as  strong  evidence  as  to 
the  coolie's  pluck.  He  will  undergo  a  surgical 
operation  without  flinching  where  an  American 
would  require  an  anaesthetic.  It  has  been  said 
that  he  has  no  nerves,  so  does  not  feel  it,  but 
he  felt  the  willow  switch  as  keenly  as  you 
or  I  would.  Considering  his  weapons  and  op- 
portunities, he  gave  a  good  account  of  himself 
in  the  old  days  in  the  defences  at  Kang-wha. 
Often,  still,  with  wretched  flint  lock  or  fuse 
gun,  he  will  steal  his  way  among  the  rocks,  and 
beard  the  tiger,  capturing  his  game  and  return- 
ing home  in  triumph. 

Not  being  able  to  find  a  definite  example  of 
more  than  ordinary  courage,  I  referred  the  mat- 
ter to  my  Korean  friend,  and  he  told  me  the 
following,  which  in  his  mind  bespoke  a  heroism 
rarely  seen  among  mortals :  *'  A  number  of 
coolies  had  imprisoned  a  huge  rat  in  a  grain  bin. 
The  question  now  was,  who  would  venture  in 
bare  handed,  capture  and  dispatch  the  rat. 
One  stout-looking  fellow  smiled  broadly,  and 
amid  the  applause  of  the  on-lookers,  volunteered 
to  go.  He  pulled  his  jacket  tight,  tried  his 
fingers  as  if  to  see  that  all  were  in  working 
order,  and  advanced  to  the  attack.  Meanwhile 
the  rat  facing  about,  resolved  to  die  game.  The 
parrying  lasted  a  few  minutes,  then  a  pass,  then 


58  Korean  Sketches 

a  rush  of  confusion  and  sudden  leap  into  mid 
air,  all  quick  as  lightning,  and  the  coolie  with 
one  hand  bleeding,  held  in  the  other  the  lifeless 
rat.  Your  common  cricket  ball,"  added  my 
Korean  friend,  "  is  nothing  ;  but  to  catch  a  live 
rat,  which  is  equal  to  a  cricket  ball  charged 
with  dynamite,  requires  courage  indeed." 

Not  only  does  the  coolie  at  times  exhibit  sur- 
prising agility,  but  his  strength  is  phenomenal. 
With  a  rack  made  of  two  forked  limbs  fastened 
together,  as  worn  by  Mr.  Quak,  he  will  carry  a 
bale  of  piece-goods  weighing  four  hundred 
pounds,  or  bring  a  perfectly  paralyzing  load  of 
deer  hides  all  the  way  from  Kyiing-heung  on 
the  Russian  border. 

In  Korea  there  are  really  no  carts  or  wheeled 
means  of  transportation.  Many  of  the  roads 
will  not  admit  of  beasts  of  burden,  so  the 
strength  of  the  nation  has  gone  into  the  coolie's 
shoulders.  With  a  load  such  as  we  often  see, 
he  reminds  one  of  the  Titan  Atlas  lifting  the 
world. 

It  has  been  a  sorrow  to  many  a  foreigner  that 
the  coolie  should  be  so  slow  in  his  mental  move- 
ments, so  obstinate  about  changing  his  mind  or 
responding  to  an  order,  l.ut  it  is  easily  ex- 
plained. Like  his  body,  his  mind  moves  under 
a  pressure  of  from  one  to  four  hundred  pounds, 
which  accounts  for  its  slowness  of  motion.  Run 
violently  against  his  inclinations,  and  he  goes 


The  Coolie  59 

obstinately  along,  feeling  it  in  fact  as  little  as  if 
you  had  collided  with  him  when  carrying  his 
load  of  piece-goods.  Violence  wins  nothing 
and  means  ultimate  victory  for  the  coolie. 
Even  in  Korea,  how  many  Westerners  liave 
spent  themselves  in  a  brilliant  charge  on  this 
coolie  phalanx,  with  apparent  victory  for  the 
time,  but  in  the  end,  have  won  only  ignominy, 
with  the  name  Yang-Kwi-ja  (foreign  devil)  firmly 
fixed  upon  them.  My  dislike  for  that  name  is 
not  that  it  has  any  deep  spiritual  signification, 
but  that  it  is  not  complimentary  and  embraces 
in  its  scope  too  many  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men. 

This  repeated  attempt  to  coerce  the  Far  East, 
seen,  not  only  in  Korea,  but  elsewhere,  has  sug- 
gested the  following  lines  that  are  especially 
applicable  to  the  case  of  the  coolie,  though  they 
may  possibly  have  even  a  wider  significance. 

An  Occidental  newly  sent, 

And  keyed  up  for  the  tussle, 
Has  come  to  rouse  the  Orient, 

And  teach  it  how  to  hustle. 

"This  East,"  he  says,  "man,  woman,  child, 
Is  chronically  lazy, 
I'll  get  a  move  on,"  and  he  smiled, 
"  Or  drive  the  country  crazy." 

He  kicked  his  cook,  and  sacked  his  groom, 

And  raised  a  dire  disaster, 
But  all  in  vain  his  fret  and  fume, 

To  move  the  Orient  faster. 


6o  Korean  Sketches 

The  horse  he  rode  was  like  his  boy, 

Whose  maxim  was  to-morrow ! 
His  life  became  instead  of  joy, 

Accumulated  sorrow. 

His  nerve  gave  out,  his  brain  went  wild, 

Completely  off  the  level, 
And,  when  he  died,  the  Orient  smiled, 

**  A  crazy  foreign  devil." 

In  spite  of  all  the  pressure,  moral  and  mate- 
rial, that  weighs  against  him,  the  coolie  remains 
the  managing  director  of  the  nation,  the  orna- 
ment of  every  corner  and  gateway  in  the  city. 
I  reverence  him,  in  fact  I  always  feel  respect 
for  any  one  who  has  cheated  me  as  successfully 
and  as  often  as  he  has.  He  does  it  fairly  and 
squarely,  a  pure  matter  of  business,  the  sharper 
man  coming  out  best.  On  the  other  hand,  sen- 
sations of  humility  creep  over  me,  in  remem- 
brance of  a  saying  of  my  Scotch  grandfathers, 
*'  wha  cheats  me  aince  shame  fa'  him,  wha  cheats 
me  twice  shame  fa'  me." 

But  there  is  a  way  to  manage  the  coolie,  take 
him  gently  and  softly  at  first,  with  slightly  in- 
creasing pressure  as  his  being  comes  into  mo- 
tion, and  you  can  turn  him  this  way  and  that 
as  by  the  turning  of  a  rudder  ;  for  his  condition 
is  not  one  of  obstinac}^  but  of  inability. 

It  has  often  been  a  question,  how  people 
who  never  read  employ  the  mind,  and  with 
what  do  they  store  it.     We  can  see  so  little  in 


The  Coolie  61 

a  lifetime,  and  can  hear  so  much  less  at  first 
hand,  that  we  are  indebted  more  largely  to 
literature  than  to  anything  else  for  the  delights 
of  life,  and  for  what  we  know;  but  the  coolie 
has  no  literature,  yet  his  mind  is  stored  to  re- 
pletion ;  he  can  entertain  you  by  the  hour  with 
tales  of  impossibilities.  To  him  everything 
worth  repeating  must  be  clothed  with  the  mar- 
vellous. Tell  him  a  plain  truth,  and  he  will  for- 
get it  before  the  morning.  Tell  him  one  of  the 
latest  yarns,  and  he  will  believe  it ;  add  to  it, 
and  pass  it  on  to  the  second  and  third  genera- 
tion. The  mind  must  have  its  store,  and  if  it 
cannot  obtain  it  through  literature,  it  will 
through  tradition.  Imagine  this  process  going 
on  from  father  to  son  for  a  thousand  years,  and 
you  can  guess  the  kind  of  legends  and  myths 
that  fill  the  coolie's  mind ;  interesting,  some  of 
them  are,  but  quite  as  far  removed  from  truth 
as  from  the  generation  that  began  them. 

Literature  in  Korea  is  a  dead  letter,  so  that 
the  interesting  field  for  research  is,  after  all,  the 
beliefs  and  traditions  of  the  non-reading  classes; 
and  the  coolie  is  the  only  one  who  possesses 
these  intact.  This  is  by  itself  so  wide  a  subject 
that  we  cannot  here  touch  upon  it.  His  beliefs 
are  legion,  though  not  defined  sufficiently  to 
constitute  his  religion.  Articles  of  dress,  trees 
by  the  wayside,  animals  and  birds,  have  endless 
signs  and  omens  associated  with  them. 


62  Korean  Sketches 

Once  while  on  a  journey,  my  coolie  called  at 
my  room  in  the  early  morning  in  great  distress, 
saying  that  the  night  before  he  had  left  his 
straw  shoes  to  dry  in  front  of  the  kitchen 
stoke  hole,  and  that  in  the  dark  before  the 
dawn  they  had  been  swept  into  the  fire  and 
burned.  As  they  cost  only  a  few  easily  we  tried 
to  comfort  him  by  saying  he  could  have  another 
pair,  but  he  said,  *'  No  !  no  !  that's  not  it.  To 
burn  your  shoes  is  an  omen.  I  shall  die."  I 
tried  to  reason  him  out  of  it,  but  he  was  fixed 
in  his  faith,  and  that  day  went  with  doleful  face 
till  we  reached  the  capital.  Two  days  later  he 
sent  saying  he  was  very  ill.  I  had  a  foreign 
physician  see  him,  who  pronounced  his  case 
typhus.  The  poor  coolie  with  a  most  lugubri- 
ous face  reminded  me  of  the  omen  three  nights 
before,  as  much  as  to  say,  that  he  and  his  straw 
shoes  knew  more  in  half  an  hour  than  I  could 
tell  them  in  years. 

Independence  is  a  new  thought  to  Korea,  and 
a  new  word  has  been  coined  to  express  it.  The 
native  has  never  dreamed  of  an  existence  apart 
from  that  of  others.  In  the  Western  world,  a 
man  may  bear  his  own  burden,  just  as  a  house 
may  stand  by  itself  in  a  wide  expanse  of  coun- 
try; but  in  the  Orient  men  work  in  groups, 
and  houses  draw  together  into  hamlets  and 
villages.  The  great  forces  with  us  are  centrif- 
ugal, marked  b}^  extension,  separation,  and  the 


The  Coolie  63 

like ;  while  in  the  East,  life  tends  toward  the 
centre,  and  is  characterized  by  contraction  and 
limitation,  the  coolie  being  one  of  the  largest 
factors  in  this  process.  The  sphere  of  his  use- 
fulness is  so  contracted  in  fact,  that  he  will 
undertake  nothing  without  an  assistant.  He 
eyes  the  simplest  task  with  a  look  of  despair, 
unless  you  will  engage  his  friend  as  well. 
Should  it  be  the  handling  of  a  wood-saw,  he 
must  have  a  coolie  at  the  other  end  ;  not  from 
necessity,  but  because  it  is  custom  and  conforms 
to  the  eternal  fitness  of  things. 

His  use  of  a  shovel  too  is  striking.  A  de- 
scription of  this  I  will  quote  from  my  friend  the 
Rev.  G.  Heber  Jones,  one  of  the  closest  ob- 
servers and  best  students  in  Korea.  **  This  in- 
teresting invention  occupies  a  front  rank  among 
labor-saving  machines  of  Korea,  for  it  saves 
from  three  to  five  men  a  vast  deal  of  work.  It 
consists  of  a  long  wooden  shovel,  armed  with 
an  iron  shoe,  to  cut  into  the  earth  properly. 
The  handle  is  about  five  feet  long,  and  is 
worked  (to  a  certain  extent)  by  the  captain  of 
the  crew.  Two  ropes,  one  on  each  side,  are  at- 
tached to  the  bowl  of  the  shovel,  and  these  are 
managed  by  the  men  who  seek  to  save  their 
labor. 

''  While  in  operation  the  captain  inserts  the 
iron-shod  point  of  the  shovel  sometimes  as  deep 
into   the    earth  as  three  inches,  and  then  the 


64  Korean  Sketches 

crew  of  two  or  four  men  give  a  lusty  pull  and  a 
shout,  and  away  will  go  a  tablespoonful  of 
earth  fully  six  feet  or  more,  into  the  distance. 
This  operation  is  repeated  three  or  four  times, 
and  then  the  weary  crew  take  a  recess,  and  re- 
fresh themselves  with  a  pipe.  It  is  a  beautiful 
sight  to  watch  a  crew  working  these  power 
shovels ;  everything  is  executed  with  such  clock- 
like regularity,  especially  the  recess.  They 
sometimes  sing  in  a  minor  strain — for  the 
Korean  coolie  can  always  be  depended  on,  when 
putting  in  his  time,  to  do  it  in  as  pleasant  a 
manner  as  possible. 

"  That  this  implement  belongs  to  the  class  of 
labor-saving  machines  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
It  takes  five  men  to  do  one  man's  work,  but 
entails  no  reduction  in  the  pay.  In  fact,  the 
number  of  the  crew  can  be  extended  to  the 
limit  of  the  shovel's  ropes  without  risk  of  a 
strike  among  the  laborers.  Many  interesting 
stories  might  be  told  to  illustrate  its  name  of  the 
power  shovel,  one  of  which  I  will  tell :  We  had 
a  small  patch  of  ground  we  wanted  turned  over, 
80  we  hired  a  coolie,  and  put  into  his  hand  a 
beautiful  new  spade  from  America.  He  at- 
tached two  straw  ropes  to  it,  hired  four  other 
coolies,  at  our  expense  of  course,  and  did  the 
job  in  triumph.  Such  is  the  power  of  this  in- 
strument over  the  Korean  coolie's  mind." 

No  amount  of  money  can  tempt  the  coolie  to 


The  Coolie  6c 

break  faith  with  custom.  He  regards  money 
as  a  convenience,  but  in  no  case  as  a  necessity. 
Other  things  being  satisfactory  he  will  agree  to 
accept  of  it,  will  demand  more  at  times,  or  will 
regard  with  a  look  of  scorn  the  largest  amount 
you  can  offer  him.  He  never  descends  to  purely 
business  relations.  When  you  engage  him  for 
a  piece  of  work  he  comes  simply  with  a  desire 
for  your  convenience,  while  in  the  evening 
you  present  him  with  cash  expressive  of  your 
friendship  and  appreciation.  Should  the  rela- 
tions during  the  day  become  strained,  he  will 
probably  demand  more;  should  friendship  be 
strengthened,  he  will  accept  less;  should  mu- 
tual disagreement  break  out,  he  will  not  work 
for  you  for  any  money,  and  in  all  probability 
will  have  you  boycotted  by  others  of  the  village. 

The  coolie's  religion  consists  in  a  worship  of 
ancestors,  and  a  hatred  of  all  officialdom ;  not 
that  he  really  loves  the  former,  or  dislikes  the 
latter;  but  custom  requires  that  he  attribute 
success  to  the  virtue  of  his  forefathers,  and 
failure  to  the  depravity  of  the  district  man- 
darin ;  hence  expressions  of  reverence  for  the 
one,  and  sworn  hatred  for  the  other. 

In  the  first  prefecture  I  visited,  the  coolies  of 
the  village  spent  a  large  part  of  their  time 
squatting  on  their  heels,  anathematizing  the 
prefect  who  lived  over  the  hills  in  the  yamen. 
It  seemed  to  me  we  were  on  the  eve  of  an  up- 


66  Korean  Sketches 

rising  that  would  leave  not  even  cotton  wad- 
ding enough  to  tell  of  the  fate  of  the  hapless 
magistrate.  During  the  course  of  the  season, 
we  became  acquainted,  and  a  more  sleek,  con- 
tented official  it  has  never  been  my  fortune  to 
know — wholly  oblivious  he  seemed  to  the  storm 
brewing  about  his  ears.  The  storm  continued 
to  brew,  but  never  broke.  Visits  to  other  parts 
of  the  country  have  since  demonstrated  beyond 
doubt,  that  this  discontent  is  the  normal  condi- 
tion of  affairs  in  Korea ;  and  that  the  prefect 
would  never  be  happy  or  safe  without  this  cen- 
tripetal force  to  keep  him  within  a  reasonable 
orbit. 

While  cherishing  such  hatred  on  the  one 
hand,  the  coolie  is  quite  emphatic  in  his  loyalty 
to  the  king  on  the  other.  To  him,  his  majesty 
is  the  peerless  perfection  of  wisdom  and  be- 
nevolence— one  who  in  fact  cannot  sin;  who 
though  as  wicked  as  Nero  and  unscrupulous  as 
Ahab,  would  be  spoken  of  as  the  son  of  divin- 
ity, the  sinless  jade  ruler,  etc. ;  while  the  officers 
who  surround  him  from  ministers  down,  are  re- 
garded as  public  outlaws,  veritable  banditti  of 
state. 

The  coolie  has  no  visible  fear  of  his  fellow 
man.  His  enemies  are  tokgahi  and  kwisin, 
which  might  be  translated  "  little  devils."  He 
regards  all  distasteful  conditions  of  life  as  under 
their  control,  and  the  earnestness  with  which  he 


The  Coolie  67 

sets  himself  about  the  capture  of  the  *' little 
devil,"  and  the  corking  of  him  in  a  bottle,  and 
the  burying  him  deep  underground,  has  marked 
many  an  anxious  line  across  the  coolie's  face, 
that  was  never  marked  by  ordinary  care  or  fear 
of  mortal  man.  It  takes  the  larger  part  of  his 
personal  earnings  to  pay  P'ansu  (blind  fortune- 
tellers) and  Mutang  (sorceress)  who  come  and 
dance  and  shout  with  cymbals  and  drums  and 
gongs — enough  to  scare  any  devil.  I  have 
watched  a  sorceress  when  exorcising  some 
spirit.  She  seemed  in  a  state  of  ecstatic  ex- 
hilaration, whirling  and  turning,  until  my  own 
sight  most  lost  its  balance,  and  I  saw  no  reason 
why  I  should  not  step  into  the  circle  and  waltz 
round  to. 

The  poor  coolie  lives  in  constant  dread  lest 
even  his  topknot  be  not  safe.  A  passing  devil 
may  cut  it  off  in  the  dark,  so  he  seldom  goes  out 
at  night.  Some  who  have  had  their  topknots 
thus  stolen  have  come  and  told  me.  Devils 
set  fire  to  the  house  by  throwing  a  ball  of  liv- 
ing flame  against  the  thatch.  This  ball  the 
tokgahi  have  brought  all  the  way  from  Pluto*s 
furnace.  Dishes  go  clash,  bang,  in  the  kitchen 
without  visible  cause,  while  water  is  heard  be- 
ing dashed  against  the  wall.  Meanwhile,  the 
door  is  drawn  tighter,  the  lock  doubly  fas- 
tened, and  the  wife  trembling  exclaims,  these 
devils  are  worse  than  any  mother-in-law. 


68  Korean  Sketches 

I  have  often  wondered  where  all  the  wrinkles 
come  from  on  the  face  of  the  coolie,  when  he 
takes  life  so  evenly  and  is  so  indifferent  about 
work.  I  conclude  that  they  come  from  fear  of 
devils,  who  through  the  coolie's  lifetime  hold 
him  in  bondage. 

The  coolie's  relation  to  his  deceased  ances- 
tors I  have  never  been  able  to  define.  That  he 
is  devout  in  the  performance  of  the  sacred 
rites,  is  unquestioned ;  but  that  he  has  a  clear 
understanding  of  their  purport,  is  exceedingly 
doubtful.  A  proof  however  of  his  grasp  of 
the  situation  is  seen  in  this,  that  he  can  point 
you  out  every  grave  of  his  ancestors  to  the 
fourth  generation,  and  can  talk  as  familiarly 
of  a  great-grandfather's  second  cousin  as  we 
could  of  a  half  sister.  No  spirit  is  forgotten  in 
his  round  of  yearly  sacrifice.  As  to  what  it 
all  means  he  leaves  you  in  doubt.  Prosperity 
in  some  mysterious  way  hangs  upon  it,  and 
there  the  subject  rests. 

I  have  often  thought — though  my  Korean 
friend  says  it  is  not  so — that  the  native  carries 
a  grudge  against  his  deceased  parent,  such  as 
an  accomplice  might  feel  toward  one  who  had 
turned  state's  evidence.  The  parent  departs 
this  life,  and  in  so  doing,  commits  a  heinous 
breach  of  propriety,  leaving  his  posterity  to 
bear  the  disgrace,  while  he  is  picnicking  with 
his  seniors  and  other  distinguished  spirits  of 


The  Coolie  69 

antiquity.  Calling  himself  "depraved  exist- 
ence," "unconscionable  sinner,"  the  coolie 
mourner  wanders  for  three  years  with  a  burden 
on  his  heart,  and  the  shade  of  a  wide  hafc  over 
his  countenance. 

The  coolie's  home  life  is  simple.  A  mat  or 
two  on  the  mud  floor,  with  a  fire  underneath, 
is  comfort  enough  for  the  most  fastidious.  His 
iron  jointed,  supple  sinewed  wife,  keeps  all  in 
motion.  The  Korean  would  long  since  have 
been  reduced  to  dust  and  ashes  had  it  not  been 
for  her.  While  her  husband  sits  and  smokes, 
she  swings  her  batons,  making  the  kitchen  ring 
with  her  voice  or  the  sounds  of  the  cooking. 
Though  unacquainted  with  the  embroidered 
side  of  life,  she  is  a  faithful,  decent  woman, 
and  does  honor  to  the  Far  East.  True  to  her 
husband,  and  kind  to  her  children,  in  spite  of 
her  unattractive  appearance  and  emphatic  man- 
ner, she  takes  her  part  in  the  struggle  of  life 
bravely  and  modestly,  and  does  credit  to  wom- 
ankind the  world  over. 

But  now  as  we  leave  the  coolie  let  us  remem- 
ber only  his  virtues.  He  takes  life  as  it  comes, 
and  is  always  good-natured.  Be  it  rough  or 
smooth  he  shines  with  content.  He  seldom 
washes,  has  no  second  change  of  clothing,  no 
carpets  or  slippers.  He  eats  any  kind  of  food, 
sleeps  on  the  roadway  when  night  overtakes 
him,  and  lies  down  to  die  with  as  little  cere- 


yo  Korean  Sketches 

mony  as  he  lives.  A  rough,  craggy  kind  of  life, 
where  strength  of  body  and  mind  might  both 
develop.  Korean  philosophy  says  strength, 
not  beauty,  is  what  men  need.  "Strength  is 
the  male,  beauty  is  the  female  "  :  and  the  coolie 
is  strong. 

You  are  never  through  with  him,  nor  is  he 
ever  through  with  you.  He  jostles  you  on  the 
streets,  wipes  his  oily  shoulders  on  you  as  he 
goes  by,  bows  and  smiles  as  sweetly  as  though 
his  life  were  a  holiday  and  his  conscience  clear. 

One  coolie  stands  out  prominently  before  me, 
a  little  man  with  brown  face  who  accompanied 
me  on  trips  into  the  interior,  keeping  the  way 
clear,  and  acting  throughout  in  my  interest. 
One  evening  after  a  bleak  day  of  nearly  forty 
miles  of  travel,  we  entered  quarters  for  the 
night,  and  were  informed  that  there  was  no 
room,  nothing  to  eat,  and  no  use  for  a  foreigner. 
All  the  town  apparentl)^  had  come  out  to  tell 
us  so.  Here  I  was  alone  in  the  world,  no  one 
to  depend  on  but  the  little  man  with  brown 
face,  and  he  had  run  forty  miles  already.  Not 
wearied,  but  simply  shortened  in  temper,  he 
spent  about  eight  seconds  arguing  the  question 
with  the  towns-people,  and  when  that  did  not 
avail,  turned  on  the  chief  speaker,  a  tall  lanky 
fellow,  and  taking  a  double  hold  of  the  after- 
part  of  his  garments  ran  him  down  that  street 
as   though   propelled   by    a   locomotive.     This 


The  Coolie  71 

was  conclusive  proof  to  the  inhabitants  that 
we,  not  thej,  were  running  the  town,  so  they 
jdelded  us  a  room,  rice  and  eggs,  and  comfort 
for  the  night. 

Many  a  day  since,  all  my  hopes  have  been 
centred  in  the  little  man  with  brown  face,  and 
never  once  has  he  failed  me ;  but  has  carried 
me  on  his  back  over  streams,  stood  by  through 
rain  and  snow — ever  forgetful  of  his  own  com- 
forts ;  has  been  the  life  of  the  party,  providing 
situations  of  amusement  clear  across  the  penin- 
sula; trustworthy  as  one's  brother,  and  faithful 
as  the  sun — all  for  what  ?  A  few  cash  that  he 
could  have  earned  with  much  less  labor  upon 
his  own  mud  floor  at  home ;  but  down  in  his 
coolie's  heart,  it  was  for  him  a  matter  of  friend- 
ship and  honor. 

It  is  long  now  since  a  difference  of  location 
compelled  us  to  separate,  but  frequently  still, 
by  post  or  courier,  comes  a  thick  wadded  letter 
written  in  native  script,  wishing  long  life  and 
blessing ;  saying  that  he  still  lives  and  is  well ; 
signed  awkwardly  and  humbly  by  the  little 
man  with  brown  face. 


Ill 

THE  YALU  AND  BEYOND 

In  giving  a  faithful  account  of  a  journey  in 
an  Eastern  country  there  are  many  things  to  be 
mentioned  that  are  other  than  pleasing.  One 
endeavors,  as  far  as  possible,  to  see  with  a 
halo  round  each  eye ;  but  in  spite  of  such 
effort,  the  shock  is  often  great  for  a  tender, 
Western  nervous  system,  so  that  it  were  best 
not  to  peer  too  closely  into  the  mysteries  of 
Oriental  travel. 

Koyang  is  a  little  town  of  no  importance, 
twelve  miles  northeast  of  Seoul.  Here  our 
party  arrived  about  dark,  and  dined  on  rice, 
red  peppers,  and  fish  spawn,  under  the  inspira- 
tion of  which  repast  we  turned  in  for  the 
night. 

We  had  started  from  Seoul  about  noon,  with 
two  ponies  so  piled  up  with  bundles  that  scarce 
anything  could  be  seen  of  the  original  animals. 
In  our  party  was  a  Mr.  So,  a  Korean  of  consid- 
erable culture,  who  had  spent  most  of  his  life 
in  China  and  on  the  border  land.  We  invited 
him  to  accompany  us,  first,  because  he  was  a 
pleasant  gentleman,  and  second,  because  he 
spoke  Chinese,  and  we  did  not  know  but  we 

72 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  73 

might  go  through  Manchuria  before  returning. 
He  was  the  awe-inspiring  member  of  the  party 
and  lent  it  dignity.  His  monstrously  padded 
clothes  and  huge  black  spectacles  gave  him  the 
appearance  of  a  double-eyed  cyclop.  His  long 
pipe  however  reassured  one,  and  demonstrated 
to  the  world  that  he  was  not  a  creature  to  be 
feared,  but  a  gentle  being  of  refinement  and 
culture. 

We  took  along  a  boy  called  Keumdoli,  a 
good-natured  youth,  whose  face  had  been 
pimpled  into  a  kind  of  pebbled  leather  by  the 
smallpox. 

Another  member  of  the  party  was  a  half- 
grown  terrier,  who  cut  capers  as  though  he 
were  going  on  a  picnic  of  an  hour  or  two, 
instead  of  a  journey  of  a  thousand  miles.  He 
dived  about  here  and  there,  and  looked  so 
nimble,  that  the  natives  were  inclined  to  view 
him,  not  as  a  canis^  but  as  a  kwisin  (spirit) 
which  these  Westerners  had  taken  along  for 
congenial  company.  We  called  him  Nip.  He 
was  the  genteel  Western  member  of  the  party. 

Koyang  was  peaceful  and  quiet  after  Seoul. 
We  slept  well,  and  next  morning  entered 
through  a  narrow  pass  into  what  is  known  as 
the  robber  district.  We  saw  no  highwayman, 
and  the  ordinary  passers  looked  at  our  dog  and 
not  at  us. 

Apart  entirely  from  brigands,  there  are  his- 


74  Korean  Sketches 

torical  reminiscences  connected  with  this  place. 
Five  centuries  ago,  when  Song-do  was  capital, 
this  mountain  district  was  filled  with  some  hun- 
dred and  more  Buddhist  temples.  During  that 
dynasty,  which  was  favorable  to  Buddha,  they 
remained  unmolested,  but  upon  the  establish- 
ment of  royalty  in  Han  Yang  (Seoul),  the 
Buddhists  were  routed  out,  and  their  temples 
burned.  "  Only  one  trace  of  them  remains  to- 
day," said  Mr.  So,  "in  springtime,  the  stones 
are  lined  with  a  yellow  coating  of  bedbugs 
that  have  faded  somewhat  for  having  remained 
five  hundred  years  without  the  proper  means  of 
subsistence."  I  am  informed,  in  all  serious- 
ness, that  notwithstanding  their  long  fasting 
some  still  weigh  as  much  as  half  a  pound. 

A  little  further  along  we  came  on  two 
miryoh  or  colossal  Buddhas,  looking  down  from 
the  mountain  side  with  the  everlasting  apathy 
of  Sukamoni  written  on  their  faces.  It  is  the 
Sphinx  and  his  wife,  the  riddle  of  the  Far  East 
standing  out  before  you.  They  were  chiselled 
from  the  solid  rock,  six  or  seven  centuries 
ago,  when  Song-do  was  the  capital.  Song-do 
had  looked  with  anxiety  upon  the  increasing 
influence  of  Han  Yang.  Its  soothsayers 
likened  the  mountains  around  Seoul  to  a 
huge  cat,  ready  to  pounce  upon  the  rat  hills 
of  Song-do.  The  King  of  Korj^o,  in  fear  lest  he 
might  perish  along  with  the  rats,   caused  his 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  75 

people  to  cut  these  mirybh  so  as  to  face  Seoul 
and  guard  Song-do. 

On  the  afternoon  of  February  29th,  after  a 
tiresome  walk,  we  came  suddenly  through  a  hill 
pass  overlooking  the  Im-chin  river.  The  ice 
in  breaking  up,  had  formed  a  jam  just  in  front 
of  the  gate  which  blocked  our  way,  and  noth- 
ing remained  but  to  slide  horses,  men,  and  bag- 
gage over  a  neighboring  slope  and  catch  a  boat 
further  up  where  there  was  open  water.  The 
interesting  feature  of  our  descent,  was  the 
horseman's  bringing  the  two  ponies.  He  took 
a  firm  hold  of  the  halter  of  one,  tugged  him 
into  motion,  made  a  bound  for  the  edge,  and 
never  looked  back  until  he  had  reached  the 
bottom.  The  pony  slid,  and  rolled,  and  in  a 
twinkle  was  at  the  foot  too,  apparently  very 
much  to  its  own  surprise  ;  the  other  followed 
in  like  manner.  Three  or  four  towsy-headed 
natives  propelled  us  over  in  a  scow  that  leaked 
ominously.  At  last  they  landed  us,  partly  by 
carrying  us  on  their  backs,  and  partly  by 
dumping  us  into  the  water,  and,  withal,  amid 
great  noise  and  confusion.  Ten  li  further  on 
we  found  an  inn,  where  they  kindled  a  fire 
beneath  the  floor,  that  not  only  warmed,  but 
baked  us  the  livelong  night.  This  is  only  a 
trifling  matter,  and  yet  it  is  not  as  easy  to 
endure  the  baking  process  gracefully,  as  a  cold 
outsider  might  imagine. 


76  Korean  Sketches 

On  a  promontory  overlooking  this  river, 
which  is  called  Im-chin,  we  noticed  a  monu- 
mental building,  quite  insignificant  in  appear- 
ance, and  yet  there  is  associated  with  it  an  oft- 
repeated  Korean  tale  : — About  four  centuries 
ago  there  lived  a  prophet,  called  Yiil-gok,  who 
built  here  an  oddly  shaped  structure.  It  was 
his  custom  frequently  to  oil  the  woodwork,  in- 
side and  out,  and,  when  asked  the  meaning, 
said  he  was  preparing  it  to  be  burned.  Said 
he,  punning  on  the  name  of  the  river,  "  among 
the  years  to  come,  in  the  one  called  Im-chin, 
on  a  certain  night  (giving  the  date)  this  build- 
ing must  be  fired,  or  great  disaster  will  over- 
take the  nation."  Before  the  year  of  his 
prophecy  had  come,  Yiil-gok  fell  sick  and  died, 
leaving  his  older  brother  to  keep  the  house 
oiled,  and  burn  it  on  the  appointed  night. 
With  the  year  Im-chin  (1592),  came  the  inva- 
sion of  the  Japanese,  and  their  march  on  Seoul. 
The  Korean  king  fled  for  his  life.  In  the  night, 
almost  alone,  he  was  trying  in  vain  to  find  his 
way  over  these  mountains,  expecting  every 
moment  to  be  captured  by  those  following  hard 
after  him.  When  darkness  seemed  to  render 
escape  impossible,  suddenly  a  fire  blazed  up 
from  a  point  just  ahead,  lighting  the  surround- 
ing country.  By  means  of  it  the  king  made 
his  way  over  the  mountains,  across  the  river, 
and  ultimately  escaped.    This  was  the  predicted 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  77 

night  and  the  oiled  house  of  the  prophet  had 
saved  the  king.  Now,  upon  the  same  promon- 
tory stands  the  building  we  had  seen,  in  modest 
commemoration  of  the  prophet's  wisdom. 

The  weather  this  day  had  been  balmy  and 
springlike — some  of  the  willows  already  showed 
signs  of  life.     On  these  and  other  trees  by  the 
roadside  rags  were  tied,  while  underneath  stones 
were  heaped  up.     This  is  one  Korean  method 
of  charming  away  the  ill-luck  that  devils  are 
supposed  to  be  constantly  inflicting  upon  mor- 
tals.    There  is  no  special  sacred  tree  in  Korea, 
as  this  day  we  passed  an  oak,  a  maple  and  a 
cedar,  all  of  them  hanging  with  spirit  offerings. 
According   to    Korean   demonology,  a   tree   is 
supposed   to  be  the  abiding  place   of  various 
kinds  of  evil  spirits.     Inside  of  the  bark  and 
roots,  ever}^ where  in  fact,  legions  of  these  are 
secreted.     My  boy  awoke  me  one  night,  saying 
that  he  could  not  sleep,  because  devils  were 
throwing  sand  against  the   window,  and   that 
they  were  coming  out  of  an  old  tree  behind 
the    house.     I   went    out   to   investigate,    and 
found  chips  scattered  about  giving  forth  a  pale 
phosphorescent  light   that   the   boy  was   sure 
were  devils. 

The  next  day  we  were  to  enter  Song-do  the 
capital  of  the  Wangs,  the  kings  of  the  former 
dynasty.  Rain  came  on  and  drowned  our  en- 
thusiasm   and    made    walking    anything    but 


78  Korean  Sketches 

pleasant.  One  of  the  signs  that  we  were  ap- 
proaching the  city  was  the  hats  we  saw.  They 
are  of  a  shape  peculiar  to  this  district;  are 
made  of  straw,  wide,  pointed,  and  umbrella-like. 
They  resemble  the  hats  worn  by  the  Buddhists, 
and  have  come  down  from  a  time  when  it  was 
fashionable  to  dress  as  Buddha  did.  About 
three  o'clock  we  passed  through  a  long,  tablet- 
lined  street,  and  put  up  at  an  inn  just  outside 
the  South  Gate.  Here  we  waited  till  seven  P.  M. 
for  lunch.  One  grows  to  be  patient  and  long- 
suffering  in  Korea,  and,  certainly,  the  sooner 
he  becomes  so  the  better  for  him.  The  only 
way  to  be  happy,  when  travelling,  is  to  give 
Koreans  time.  Let  them  work  out  their  part 
of  the  pilgrimage  in  their  own  way.  It  is  alto- 
gether useless  to  labor,  and  fret,  and  hurry 
them,  for  they  will  be  just  as  slow  as  ever,  and 
love  you  the  less  withal.  Rather  strange  it  is 
that  a  land  so  tedious  should  be  so  rich  in  the 
"  hurry  up  "  style  of  word.  Ossa,  quippe^  ullin, 
soJci^  halli^  pafpi^  chiksi^  chanhainy  souipJci^  7ialli 
nankum  are  a  few  of  the  more  common  that 
we  try  and  that  we  hear  every  day.  The  na- 
tive hears  them  too,  and  they  have  as  much 
effect  on  him  as  paper  balls  would  have  on  ten 
inch  arm  or -plate. 

We  remained  a  few  days  in  Song-do,  medi- 
tating over  its  ruins.  In  the  terraced  ground 
the  foundations  are  still  solid,  and  cut  stones 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  79 

are  tumbled  here  and  there  reminding  qs  of  the 
ancient  palace  that  fell  when  the  Angevins 
were  ruling  in  England.  The  city  contains 
some  60,000  inhabitants  and  lies  at  the  foot  of 
the  Song  Ak  mountain.  It  has  a  sad,  anti- 
quated look.  Only  a  few  buildings  remain  in- 
side the  walls,  and  these  are  well  on  the  way 
to  ruin. 

Hereabouts  we  found  a  number  of  ginseng 
fields.  Sheds,  some  three  and  a  half  feet  high 
and  of  about  the  same  width,  are  arranged  in 
rows,  the  earth  is  built  up  under  these,  and 
neatly  kept  in  place  by  slates ;  and  here  the 
ginseng  grows. 

Ginseng  is  Korea's  elixir  of  life,  the  one 
great  cure-all  for  mortal  ailments.  The  culti- 
vated variety  is  valuable — very  valuable  in  fact ; 
but  the  value  of  the  mountain  variety  no  one 
knows.  Men  search  for  it  as  the}^  seek  gold  in 
the  Klondyke.  The  mania  grows  on  them ; 
many  seekers  are  driven  mad  and  disappear  in 
the  mountains.  We  are  told  too  that  mortal 
vision  is  not  sufficient  for  the  search ;  that 
ginseng  flowers  are  only  seen  by  the  spiritually 
enlightened — for  the  gods  alone  have  to  do 
with  them. 

Every  official  carries  among  his  choicest  treas- 
ures a  few  roots  of  ginseng.  Like  whiskey  in 
Scotland,  it  will  warm  5'ou  when  cold  and  cool 
you  when  heated.     It  makes  the  aged  young 


8o  Korean  Sketches 

and  spry,  and  gives  the  fading  mother  a  new 
lease  of  life. 

H.  H.  Yi  Chun  Yong,  whom  I  had  the  honor 
of  meeting  frequently  in  Japan,  enclosed  to  my 
address  once,  along  with  some  valuable  relics 
of  Korean  art,  a  bundle  of  ginseng  marked  "eat 
and  live."     I  ate  of  it — and  still  live. 

We  also  visited  a  far-famed  quarter  by  the 
east  wall.  There  is  a  stream  here,  with  a  stone 
bridge  that  has  been  partly  railed  round.  Why 
the  railing?  Because  of  one  sacred  stone  in 
the  middle,  on  which  are  marks  like  blood. 
The  story  goes  that  at  the  fall  of  Song-do  a 
certain  Prince  Cheung,  who  refused  homage  to 
the  usurpers,  while  riding  back  to  the  city  was 
murdered  on  this  bridge.  His  blood  sank  into 
the  stones,  and  five  hundred  years  cannot  wash 
out  the  stains.  The  natives  believe  implicitly 
in  the  legend,  and  to  the  present  reigning  fam- 
ily this  bridge  has  ever  been  a  sort  of  Banquo's 
ghost. 

Leaving  the  old  capital,  our  road  led  north- 
ward through  a  mountainous  district,  cut  here 
and  there  with  slate  quarries.  On  the  first  day 
out,  being  tired  from  the  heavy  roads,  we 
stopped  at  an  inn  where  a  woman  seemed  to 
be  the  sole  manager.  We  felt  sorry  for  her  at 
first,  for  she  looked  as  though  all  the  seats  of 
war  since  the  Song-do  dynasty  had  been  mapped 
upon  her  face ;  but  on  further  acquaintance  we 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  8l 

grew  to  fear  her — there  was  a  keen  edge  to  her 
voice  that  made  us  reply  in  accents  meek  and 
low.  Her  toilet  was  grimy  with  time  and  smoke 
and  was  so  arranged  that  everything  seemed  to 
centre  just  under  her  arms  giving  her  a  war- 
like as  well  as  a  domestic  air.  She  smiled,  and 
said  kind  things  about  our  dog,  so  that  we  felt 
considerably  drawn  to  her.  Indeed  we  mention 
her  because  she  is  one  of  the  few  characters 
whom  we  still  see  in  memory. 

At  the  highest  point  of  the  road  was  a  shrine 
to  some  spirit  or  god  supposed  to  be  in  posses- 
sion of  the  place.  Inside  of  it  was  the  common 
picture  we  see  of  a  Korean  riding  upon  a  tiger. 
We  noticed  that  the  natives  spoke  respectfully 
of  the  tiger,  calling  him  San-yiing-gam  (the  old 
gentleman  of  the  mountain).  They  have  all 
learned  in  Korea  to  be  polite  to  their  superiors 
— which  accounts  for  this  and  the  offerings  that 
were  made  before  the  shrine.  We  felt,  how- 
ever, that  a  more  likely  party  to  fear  was  the 
old  lady  at  the  foot  of  the  hill ;  and  in  case  of 
any  deviltry  in  those  parts,  we  should  make  our 
offering  to  her,  and  give  the  tiger  and  hwisin 
(the  demon)  a  second  place. 

After  a  journey  in  all  of  some  two  hundred 
miles,  we  sighted  the  historic  city  of  P'yt)ng-yang. 
It  stands  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tatong  river, 
which  here  flows  south.  The  approach  through 
an  avenue  of  trees  skirting  the  bank  is  full  of 


82  Korean  Sketches 

picturesqueness.  The  crossing  made,  we  en- 
tered the  East  Gate  into  perhaps  the  busiest 
city  in  Korea.  Not  its  business  however,  but 
its  antiquity  is  of  special  interest.  To  Koreans 
it  is  all  sacred  ground,  for  this  was  Keui-ja's 
home  something  about  the  time  King  David 
reigned  in  Jerusalem,  and  Keui-ja  is  the  father 
of  Choson. 

Koreans  speak  of  P'yong-yang  as  the  boat- 
shaped  capital.  The  walls  were  outlined  on 
this  plan  by  its  first  founder,  and  it  is  still  the 
floating  city.  No  one  is  supposed  to  dig  for 
water  anywhere  inside  the  walls,  as  that  would 
be  cutting  through  the  bottom  and  sinking  the 
ship.  For  this  reason  water  is  carried  from  the 
river  even  to  the  most  distant  quarters,  and  the 
peculiar  gait  of  the  water-carrier  is  one  of  the 
oddities  of  the  street.  The  streets  we  found  to 
be,  as  usual,  narrow  and  filthy  and  crowded 
with  shops  of  native  wares.  The  people,  whom 
we  had  often  heard  to  be  more  warlike  and  in- 
dependent than  other  hermits,  seemed  to  us  in 
their  appearance  and  disposition  a  very  ordi- 
nary lot,  perhaps  a  little  less  noisy  and  some- 
what more  polite  than  the  natives  of  the  south. 
Among  the  hills  to  the  north  are  the  Buddhists. 
Here  they  have  a  citadel  of  temples  command- 
ing an  excellent  view  of  the  river.  Its  beauty 
and  strength  of  situation  gives  one  an  idea  of 
the  power  Buddha  once  possessed  in  Choson. 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  83 

To  the  south,  offsetting  this,  is  the  Woi  song 
(outer  city),  where  the  ancient  palace  of  Keui-ja 
stood,  and  where  his  descendants  still  live. 
These  ancients  look  upon  present  rank  as  but 
a  ghost  of  nobility.  Like  the  Jews,  they  feel 
that  they  are  still  the  chosen  people.  So  they 
and  the  Buddhists  live,  shut  off  from  the  city 
by  massive  walls,  and  from  the  world  by  cen- 
turies of  time.  One  would  think  that  they 
might  enjoy  each  other's  company,  for  we  can 
scarcely  imagine  companions  more  likely  to  be 
congenial  than  an  aged  priest  and  an  old  soldier. 

Since  this  journey,  the  city  of  P'yong-yang 
has  experienced  the  misfortunes  of  war.  For  a 
time  it  was  the  centre  of  interest.  The  Chinese 
marched  in  with  the  display  and  confidence  that 
ignorance  gives,  and  there  wasted  their  time  and 
strength  in  meaningless  delay.  The  Japanese 
meanwhile,  took  possession  of  every  means  of 
exit  and  approach,  and  when  their  numbers  had 
increased  to  the  point  where  victory  was  in- 
sured, they  fell  upon  their  foes  as  wolves  would 
upon  sheep.  The  Chinese  in  hopeless  confusion, 
fifty  thousand  of  them  at  once,  trampled  each 
other  in  a  wild  rush  for  the  North  Gateway,  in- 
tending to  take  the  shortest  and  surest  route 
for  China.  But  some  one  had  lost  the  key  and 
there  was  no  egress.  Back  they  came  for  the 
South  Gate  like  so  many  beasts  in  stampede, 
only  to  be  mowed  down  in  all  directions.     It 


84  Korean  Sketches 

was  not  a  battle,  but  a  slaughter  of  helpless 
creatures  who  had  not  intelligence  enough  to 
plan  an  escape,  much  less  a  campaign  in  mod- 
ern warfare.  The  society  for  the  prevention  of 
cruelty  to  animals  should  extend  its  beneficent 
influence  to  the  Far  East,  and  put  a  ban  on 
shooting  inoffensive  Chinamen,  soldier  or  ci- 
vilian. 

After  the  slaughter,  the  city  of  P'yong-yang 
was  strewn  with  corpses,  and  the  once  busy 
streets  were  silent,  for  the  inhabitants  had  scat- 
tered, no  one  knew  whither.  A  Korean  with 
his  wife  and  three  children,  escaped  through 
the  thick  of  the  fight,  and  by  climbing  the  wall 
reached  safety.  He  had  been  a  man  of  some 
means,  but  of  course  had  lost  everything.  He 
said  he  was  thankful  he  had  his  three  children 
spared  to  him.  The  little  black-eyed  girl  had 
heard  and  seen  that  night  what  she  would  never 
forget — the  rattle  of  Murata  rifles  and  the 
other  hideous  accompaniments  of  war. 

Many  droll  stories  are  told  of  the  Oriental's 
ideas  of  warfare.  Chinese  cavalrymen  came 
riding  to  the  charge  with  fans  and  perfume 
bottles,  while  a  servant  brought  up  the  rear 
with  a  Winchester  rifle. 

Most  of  those  who  later  on  came  to  the  dis- 
pensary in  Mukden  for  treatment  were  wounded 
in  the  back.  "  How  is  it  that  sons  of  the  gods 
are  wounded  in  their  afterparts  only  ? "  asked 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  85 

the  foreigner.  "It  looks  as  though  they  had 
run  from  the  barbarians."  "  We  advanced  all 
right,"  says  the  Chinaman  ;  *'  according  to  mili- 
tary methods.  Then  we  put  on  fierce  faces  like 
Che-kal-yayig,  the  God  of  War,  certain  that  the 
Wo-jen  would  run,  as  they  should  have,  were 
they  not  hopeless  savages,  and  unacquainted 
with  Chinese  characters.  We  rushed  on  them 
breathing  forth  fire,  but  they  moved  not.  Then 
our  general  shouted  Victory !  for  we  had  para- 
lyzed them  with  our  boldness.  But  suddenly 
a  long  row  of  guns  raised  like  one  arm,  and, 
immortal  gods !  such  a  dastardly  way  to  fight  I 
never  saw !  I  know  not  why  we  were  wounded 
in  the  back." 

For  the  few  days  that  we  remained  in  P'yong- 
yang,  we  were  followed  by  an  innumerable 
company  of  spectators,  whose  outbursts  of 
laughter,  as  we  walked  along,  seemed  to  be- 
token something  extraordinary  in  our  personal 
appearance.  Nevertheless  we  walked  the 
streets  until  we  made  our  final  exit  in  safety, 
through  this  Chinaman's  trap,  the  North  Gate- 
way. Snow  had  fallen,  and  the  roads  were 
muddy  and  unpleasant.  A  few  days  more 
carried  us  out  of  the  flat  valleys,  past  Anju, 
and  Pak-chon,  to  where  the  road  was  lifted  high 
and  dry,  affording  glimpses  of  the  Yellow  sea 
to  the  left. 

We  spent  a  pleasant  day  in  a  town  called 


86  Korean  Sketches 

Kasan,  and  when  we  left,  a  few  of  the  natives 
saw  us  safely  out  of  the  village  and  then  threw 
stones  after  us.  Fortunately  they  did  not 
throw  with  the  same  precision  that  they  do  in 
Whang-ha,  so  we  remain  to  tell  our  story. 

A  little  later,  we  passed  a  mound  of  some 
interest,  called  the  Speaking  Grave,  which  came 
by  its  name  in  an  extraordinary  way.  About  a 
hundred  years  or  so  ago,  there  came  by  a  trav- 
eller, who,  through  unexpected  delay,  was  over- 
taken by  night.  He  saw  before  him  the  craggy 
pass  over  which  we  had  just  come,  and  fearing 
that  tigers  might  be  prowling  about,  made  up 
his  mind  to  sleep  till  daylight  beside  a  grave 
that  he  found  among  the  trees.  About  mid- 
night, he  was  awakened  by  a  voice  across  the 
valley.  "Hollo!  Isn't  to-morrow  the  anniver- 
sary of  your  burial !  "  Before  there  was  time 
to  imagine  what  such  a  question  could  mean,  he 
heard  a  reply  come  from  the  grave  beside  him, 
"Yes  of  my  burial !  "  "In  that  case,"  said  the 
other,  "you'll  go  and  see  that  the  sacrificial 
food  is  ready  in  your  home,  will  you  not?"  "I 
would  go,"  said  the  voice  in  reply,  "  but  I  have 
a  guest  sleeping  here  and  cannot  leave." 
"  Aha  !  "  said  he  across  the  valley,  "  I  see,  but 
then  if  you  go,  I'll  be  host  till  you  return." 
"  Thanks ! "  said  the  ghost,  and  all  was  silent. 
He  went,  but  soon  returned  announcing  his 
presence  by  sounds  of  fury.     "  Here  already  I 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  87 

how  so  soon?"  asked  the  host  pro  tern. 
"  Fiends !  "  said  he,  "  what  a  mess !  "  which  was 
the  only  reply,  till,  cooling  off  a  little,  he 
added,  "  I  went  to  the  house,  saw  the  food,  and 
right  in  the  middle  of  it,  what  think  you?  a 
snake  coiled  about.  I  have  just  sent  a  posse  of 
hobgoblins  for  my  youngest  grandson.  I'll 
teach  them  to  offer  me  snakes !  "  The  ghosts 
expressed  mutual  horror,  and  all  was  silent. 
When  morning  came,  our  traveller  hurried  to  a 
village  near  by,  and  inquired  about  the  man 
buried  yonder,  who  he  was,  and  where  he  had 
lived.  Arriving  at  the  home,  he  found  it  was 
indeed  the  anniversary  of  the  old  man's  funeral. 
Breathlessly  he  asked  if  all  were  well.  Alas ! 
no,  their  little  boy  had  been  drowned  that  night. 
He  then  explained  what  he  had  heard  in  the 
valley,  and  what  the  cause  of  it  had  been.  "  A 
serpent  in  the  sacrificial  food,  where  ? "  they 
asked  '*  where  ?  "  Searching  carefully  each 
dish,  they  found  nothing  that  could  resemble 
this  except  a  long  hair,  which  they  at  last  con- 
cluded the  ghost,  with  his  transcendental  vision, 
had  taken  for  a  serpent.  The  Speaking  Grave 
is  now  carefully  guarded  and  is  one  of  the  sa- 
cred groves  on  the  way  north. 

In  the  town  of  Yong-chon,  our  attention  was 
called  to  a  peculiar  custom  that  I  have  seen  no- 
where else  in  Korea.  We  had  stopped  at  an 
inn  filthy  beyond  all  description,  and  after  get- 


88  Korean  Sketches 

ting  seated  on  as  clean  a  spot  as  possible,  we 
noticed  what  might  be  called  a  dagger  in  the 
ridge-log  above  us.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  cus- 
tom handed  down  from  their  ancestors.  Should 
one  die  in  the  village  on  an  unlucky  day,  they 
say  the  soul  travels  about,  entering  other  homes 
with  intent  to  carry  ofp  the  living.  On  enter- 
ing, he  glances  at  the  ridge-log ;  a  dagger  stick- 
ing there  will  scare  him  off  and  save  the  in- 
mates. 

We  felt  how  invulnerable  we  were  before 
these  imaginary  evils,  when  suddenly  we  were 
attacked  by  enemies  that  outrival  all  supersti- 
tion. It  was  the  old  story  of  roaches  and  bugs. 
Koreans  say  that  roaches  eat  bugs,  and  again 
I  have  been  told  that  bugs  turn  into  roaches 
when  they  get  old.  Of  one  thing  only  am  I 
certain,  that  both  roaches  and  bugs  eat  mortal 
man,  and  neither  one  nor  the  other  ever  seems 
to  grow  old  or  to  transmigrate  into  anything 
less  objectionable. 

On  an  afternoon  in  March,  as  we  were  jour- 
neying along  in  an  indifferent  way.  So  suddenly 
called  our  attention  to  a  range  of  peaks  dimly 
outlined  before  us.  *•  That,"  said  he,  "is  China 
beyond  the  Yalu."  It  was  the  first  that  we  had 
seen  of  the  Celestial  Empire,  and  our  hearts 
awoke  as  we  recalled  what  we  had  heard  of  that 
far-famed  land.  Suiting  a  familiar  metaphor  to 
our  surroundings,  we  felt  that  long  centuries, 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  89 

almond-eyed  and  cued,  were  looking  down  upon 
us  from  the  height  of  yonder  mountains. 

On  we  journeyed,  gradually  ascending  until 
we  entered  Eui-ju,  a  modest  town  pleasantly 
situated  looking  south  over  the  Yalu.  It  is  a 
quaint,  old-fashioned  place,  and  might  be  called 
an  Asiatic  Antwerp.  There  were  Chinese  mer- 
chants, and  a  few  Koreans  engaged  in  business, 
but  all  spoke  of  trade  as  being  dead  now  in 
contrast  to  some  period  before  the  opening  of 
the  treaty  ports.  Eui-ju,  like  the  rest  of  Korea, 
is  in  poverty  and  ready  to  die  of  starvation. 
The  products  of  the  soil  and  manufactures  are 
gradually  growing  less,  while  the  mints  are 
rolling  out  inferior  copper  cash.  On  a  small 
scale  it  reminds  one  of  France  in  1774.  It  is 
the  old  question  of  differences  of  rank  that 
threaten  the  existence  of  the  nation;  in  other 
words,  is  it  better  to  be  an  immaculate,  laun- 
dried  aristocrat  (^yang-han)^  and  die  of  starva- 
tion in  a  dignified  manner,  or  to  become  a  low 
class  man  and  work  out  one's  salvation  with 
sun-tanned  face  and  hardened  hands? 

The  nakedness  of  the  land  too  makes  one 
sad,  "  G'est  triste,''  said  a  French  father  to  me 
when  looking  at  its  brown  hills.  There  is  really 
no  timber  in  Korea.  There  are  indeed  a  few 
scattered  remnants  of  what  were  doubtless  for- 
ests in  former  times,  but  there  remain  no  heavily 
timbered  lands. 


go  Korean  Sketches 

On  an  April  morning  we  crossed  the  river 
flats  and  the  three  divisions  of  the  Yalu.  Our 
dog  cut  capers  on  the  sand  banks,  joyful  no 
doubt  in  the  thought  of  exchanging  half -fam- 
ished Korea  for  great,  porky,  greasy,  oily  China. 

Only  the  Yalu  divides  these  two,  and  yet  they 
differ  vastly.  Dress,  occupation,  food,  language, 
everything  was  new  to  us.  Korea,  idle  or  asleep ; 
China,  strange  to  say,  awake  and  busy  I  Hav- 
ing asked  for  an  inn,  we  were  shown  into  a 
place  that  was  blue  with  smoke.  We  resolved 
to  wait  outside  until  it  had  cleared  away  a  lit- 
tle, but  Pak,  a  friend  whom  we  met  at  Eui-ju, 
told  us  it  was  always  so  in  a  Chinese  inn,  and 
that  we  must  get  used  to  it.  So  in  we  plunged. 
Chicken  coop,  pigpen,  kitchen,  sleeping  apart- 
ments, were  all  one  and  the  same  room.  Under 
greasy  blankets  lay  Chinamen— some  asleep, 
some  puffing  away  at  opium,  others  again  half- 
dressed  searching  the  seams  of  their  clothing 
in  a  suspicious  way,  all  more  or  less  attracted 
by  our  arrival :  for  \¥estern  people  are  rare  here. 

Razor-backed  pigs  walked  about  the  ground 
floor,  indifferent  to  the  fate  of  their  relatives  in 
the  frying-pans  just  above  them.  The  host 
brushed  back  and  forth,  keeping  the  on-lookers 
at  a  distance,  as  though  he  felt  much  responsi- 
bility on  our  behalf.  Groups  of  oily  urchins 
gathered  about  us.  One  little  fellow,  after 
looking  at  me  for  a  moment,  shouted  *'  Yang 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  91 

Kwe  ja !  '*  and  ran,  the  proprietor  following  him 
in  a  most  threatening  manner.  We  felt  that  this 
"  Kwe  ja  "  must  be  an  interesting  word,  and  so 
looked  .  it  up  in  the  lexicon,  where  it  read 
"devil's  son"  or  "foreign  devil." 

The  dinner  which  they  brought  in  consisted 
of  strings  of  pork,  vermicelli,  and  scrambled 
eggs.  We  looked  at  the  pork,  and  then  at  the 
live  pigs  grunting  by  us,  and  considered  how 
narrow  the  step  between  them  and  death.  The 
eggs,  of  which  there  might  have  been  a  dozen 
on  each  plate,  were  so  excessively  scrambled 
that  my  companion  declared  a  sight  of  them 
was  enough  for  him.  The  vermicelli  passed  on 
its  way  with  such  rapidity  of  motion  that  there 
was  really  no  time  to  taste  it.  We  all  dined 
squeamishly,  except  the  dog,  who  fairly  revelled 
in  oil,  and  so  continued  from  this  day  till  we  re- 
crossed  the  Yalu  a  month  later,  three  hundred 
miles  further  up. 

Our  carts  were  already  in  waiting,  three 
mules  on  each,  one  in  the  shafts,  one  to  the 
right,  and  one  ahead.  The  one  in  the  shafts  was 
so  time  worn  that  his  hide  was  bare  in  patches ; 
nevertheless  he  settled  himself  down  to  work 
in  a  way  that  showed  he  was  still  master  of  the 
situation.  These  carts  are  strongly  built,  and 
as  we  found  afterward,  can  bump  their  way 
over  all  manner  of  rocky  roads  without  being 
any  the  worse  for  it.     To  increase  comfort,  and 


92  Korean  Sketches 

also  to  cheer  our  hearts  on  the  way,  Keumdoli 
had  cushioned  us  carefully  with  bundles  of 
Chinese  confectionery. 

Our  passports  were  asked  for  and  sent  into 
the  yamen^  and  then  six  soldiers  and  a  mounted 
officer  came  to  pilot  the  way.  Though  not  a 
fighting  soldiery,  they  served  admirably  as  a 
picturesque  guard  of  honor.  They  assured  us 
that  we  were  safe  in  their  hands  from  Manchurian 
brigandage.  The  chief  gave  us  his  name,  and 
said  he  was  a  Mohammedan.  On  further  in- 
quiry, it  would  appear  that  Manchu  Moslems 
have  little  or  no  knowledge  of  the  Koran,  their 
principal  tenet  being  sworn  enmity  to  pork,  in 
which  respect  I  should  be  a  Mohammedan  too, 
if  I  lived  in  Manchuria. 

The  first  afternoon  gave  us  some  idea  of  the 
great  difference  between  Korea  and  China. 
The  people  were  all  busy,  either  with  carts, 
or  carrying  loads,  or  out  working  every  foot  of 
arable  land  ;  no  loungers  anywhere.  Even  the 
Koreans  across  the  line  seemed  to  have  breathed 
a  new  life,  and  were  at  work  something  like 
men.  One  uncombed  hermit  remarked  that 
he  did  not  mind  the  work,  but  the  food  was  so 
unclean  that  no  mortal  man  could  eat  it. 

The  next  day  at  noon  we  entered  the  town 
of  Whong-hong-san.  On  the  way  in  we  met 
several  detachments  of  cavalry,  dressed  in  flash- 
ing  colors.     They  looked   little   like  Western 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  93 

troops,  but  were  quite  as  picturesque,  and  rode 
spleudidly,  none  of  that  hang-on-with-both- 
hands  that  we  see  so  much  of  in  Korea.  In  the 
inn  where  we  lunched,  soldiers  were  quartered. 
These  were  armed  with  English  "  Tower " 
rifles  that  were  out  of  date  in  Europe  long  ago, 
but  are  still  quite  abreast  of  the  times  in  Man- 
churia. While  expecting  the  contrary,  we  found 
the  natives  much  quieter  and  more  orderly  than 
in  Korea. 

We  pushed  on  making  thirty-five  miles  a  day. 
The  wretched  carts  had  been  carefully  padded 
before  starting,  but  no  padding  will  ever  suffice. 
They  were  bumped,  and  tossed,  and  tumbled. 
Less  than  two  days  taught  us  just  to  hold  on 
in  mortal  terror.  Although  winding  along  the 
valley,  our  way  had  been  a  gradual  ascent  until 
the  evening  of  the  second  day.  After  losing 
the  road  once  or  twice  in  the  darkness,  the 
muleteers  lit  their  lanterns  and  we  entered  a 
cutting  wide  enough  for  one  cart  only.  This 
continued  for  a  mile  and  more,  until  we  had 
passed  into  the  depths  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ridge.  Had  we  met  carts  here  I  have  never 
yet  solved  the  question  as  to  how  we  would 
have  passed.  Nothing  came  to  stop  our  prog- 
ress, and  at  last,  we  reached  the  summit  where 
we  rested  for  a  little.  The  China  boys  adjusted 
the  harness,  examined  the  carts  closely,  and 
trimmed  their  lanterns  afresh.     Then  began  the 


94  Korean  Sketches 

descent.  From  the  first  it  was  steep,  but  grad- 
ually grew  steeper.  The  old  mule  who  was  re- 
sponsible for  our  lives,  as  well  as  for  the  con- 
fectionery on  board,  did  his  part  amazingly 
well.  Even  when  the  shafts  seemed  to  point 
nearer  and  nearer  toward  the  centre  of  the 
earth,  never  a  false  step  or  unguarded  move- 
ment. Round  we  went  in  the  glimmering 
light,  down  deeper,  deeper.  *'  John  "  labored 
along  by  the  side,  holding  to  the  shafts.  He 
had  a  mysterious  way  of  regulating  the  speed 
by  a  chucking  in  his  throat,  which  the  patch- 
work mule  seemed  to  listen  for  with  long  and 
attentive  ears.  Next  morning,  when  we 
emerged  from  the  inn  at  the  foot  and  looked 
back  on  the  mountains  down  which  we  had 
come  so  skillfully,  we  could  not  but  feel  a 
deep  admiration  in  our  soul  for  that  old  pilot- 
mule. 

In  the  upper  mountain  regions  it  snowed, 
and  lower  down  it  rained.  For  five  days  we 
labored  through  a  terribly  mountainous  district. 
Though  not  the  best  time  of  year  to  judge 
we  could  see  that  the  valleys  were  exceedingly 
fertile  and  that  every  piece  of  land  was  care- 
fully cultivated.  On  the  mountain  sides  were 
goats  and  sheep  grazing,  and  sometimes  a  few 
cattle.  We  saw  but  little  timber  on  this  part 
of  our  journey.  It  was  upon  our  return  east- 
ward that  we  came  upon  forest  lands. 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  95 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  fifth  day  we  emerged 
from  the  mountains  into  what  seemed  like 
northwest  prairie  lands.  Already  we  were 
within  sight  of  the  city  of  Nay-yang,  the  largest 
on  the  way  to  Mukden.  It  seemed  composed 
of  pagodas,  grotesque  roofs,  and  gateways.  We 
approached  the  east  gate,  but  without  going  in, 
merely  skirting  the  walls  and  turning  north- 
west through  the  flat  lands.  The  country  here 
is  beautifully  cultivated  and  dotted  with  vil- 
lages. Domestic  life,  though  filthy,  has  a  pros- 
perous appearance.  Chinese  gentlemen  speak 
of  Manchuria  as  the  foul  quarter  of  the  em- 
pire. The  worst  feature  of  the  country  is  the 
roads.  Highways  in  China  being  left  to  care 
for  themselves  have  fallen  into  a  most  unhappy 
condition.  We  foolishly  imagined,  before  reach- 
ing the  plain,  that  we  would  have  a  rest,  and 
find  it  smooth  after  the  mountains,  but  the  last 
thirty-five  miles  were  the  worst  of  all.  Chinese 
carts,  too,  are  the  crudest  vehicles  that  a  mortal 
ever  boarded.  Added  to  other  inconveniences 
the  wind  for  the  last  day  was  in  our  faces,  keen 
as  a  knife,  blistering  wherever  it  touched.  It 
must  have  come  straight  from  the  steppes  of 
Siberia  or  some  other  frozen  region.  So  un- 
bearnble  was  it,  that  we  had  to  hide  our  faces, 
and  so  miss  much  of  the  view  of  the  approach 
to  Mukden.  Sand  was  also  flying  hideously. 
That  afternoon  the  mules  dragged  us  into  our 


96  Korean  Sketches 

destination  and  deposited  us  in  an  inn-yard 
just  outside  the  city  wall. 

I  shall  not  attempt  a  description  of  the  place. 
We  visited  the  Temple  of  the  Fox,  Mohamme- 
dan Mosques,  etc.,  and  saw  what  interested  us 
most,  the  everyday  life  of  the  Chinaman. 

Our  view  of  the  city  was  obscured  by  a 
series  of  sandstorms  that  increased  in  violence 
till  the  day  of  departure.  Once  more  the  cart 
road  meandered  across  a  monotonous  plain. 
Here  the  sand  flew,  a  perfect  desert  simoon.  It 
curled  up  in  drifts  like  snow.  The  mules 
coughed  immoderately  to  clear  their  throats, 
while  the  rest  of  us  helplessly  drank  it  in  at 
every  pore.  On  the  second  day  out  we  bade 
this  confusion  of  sand,  pork,  and  Mongol  whirl- 
winds, farewell.  It  was  mountainous  and  the 
scenery  was  charming  from  this  to  Teung-hwa- 
sung.  We  had  every  variety.  Once  or  twice 
the  mules  were  swept  off  their  feet  and  almost 
carried  away  by  the  streams;  then  we  would 
leave  the  rivers  for  winding  avenues  of  trees ; 
or,  directly  after  being  closed  round  by  echoing 
crags,  there  would  open  before  us  some  far  rest- 
ful view.  We  almost  longed  for  the  capacity 
of  a  Rip  Van  Winkle  that  we  might  doze  off 
among  such  hills. 

The  less  we  saw  of  man,  the  cleaner,  purer, 
and  more  delightful  became  our  surroundings. 
There  is  a  line  in  Korean  sacred  writing  that  reads, 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  97 

Sanal  arai  saiy  il  man  mulken  haondai  sarami 
kajang  qui  hata  (of  all  objects  under  heaven 
man  is  most  precious).  Looking  at  himself, 
one  desires  to  feel  that  this  teaching  is  true, 
but  again  taking  a  survey  of  others,  he  is  in- 
clined to  doubt  it.  We  all  have  an  idea  how- 
ever, Koreans  as  well  as  Westerners,  that  man 
was  originally  this  "precious  object,"  but 
whether  from  ignorance  or  neglect,  he  now 
finds  himself  in  a  morbid,  run-down  condition, 
that  even  nineteenth  century  skill  cannot  diag- 
nose. For  this  reason  certain  meeting  house 
people  discard  the  sacred  writings  and  sing 
"  every  prospect  pleases  and  only  man  is  vile.'* 
Can  such  pessimism  be  true  anywhere  but  in 
New  England  ?  True  it  is  in  North  China  as 
well;  in  fact  it  looks  as  though  it  were  uni- 
versally true. 

We  were  not  destined  to  escape  the  haunts 
of  man  for  any  great  length  of  time,  for  one 
afternoon  brought  us  out  on  the  brow  of  a  hill 
overlooking  Teung-hwa-sung,  sixty-five  miles 
from  the  Yalu  river.  It  is  surrounded  by 
mountains,  and  so  seems  entirely  cut  off  from 
other  thickly  populated  districts. 

We  stopped  at  Teung-hwa-sung  for  a  couple 
of  days  to  rest  our  aches  and  pains  after  the 
cart  ride.  Among  other  things,  we  were  told 
of  a  party  of  Englishmen  who  had  come 
through  a  year  or  two   before,  and  how  they 


98  Korean  Sketches 

had  twenty  horses  and  guns  innumerable.  See- 
ing so  few  accoutrements  in  our  company,  they 
shook  their  heads  expressively,  as  if  to  say, 
England  is  not  as  powerful  as  she  was  a  year 
or  two  ago. 

I  liked  the  inn-master  in  the  place.  Pak 
told  me  he  was  a  Manchurian.  It  was  said  he 
understood  Manchu  writing,  and  that  he  was 
a  distant  relative  of  the  present  imperial  line. 
He  was  oily  enough,  certainly,  to  have  been 
anointed  for  a  dozen  kingships.  This  no  doubt 
accounted  for  the  proud  way  in  which  he  saun- 
tered about  his  own  inn,  and  the  dignity  with 
which  he  behaved  in  general.  He  was  kind  to 
our  whole  party,  to  me  in  particular.  He 
really  seemed  specially  drawn  to  me.  At  night, 
too,  he  slept  in  our  immediate  neighborhood. 
Before  retiring  he  would  shed  a  few  of  his 
outer  garments,  skillfully  going  round  the  seams 
of  these  with  his  teeth,  biting  in  every  nook 
and  corner.  If  the  objects  of  his  displeasure 
were  specially  numerous,  he  would  engage  his 
grandson  to  search  for  him,  and  the  lad's  success 
could  be  noted  by  the  sound  of  the  victims 
cracked  on  the  dining  table.  A  most  remark- 
able old  man !  But  like  all  others  we  had  to 
bid  him  farewell  and  start  from  Teung-hwa- 
sung. 

We  still  recall  the  morning  of  our  departure. 
Cart  number   two  had  started  ahead,  and  by 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  gg 

some  mishap  was  upset.     Mr.  So  was  ejected, 
as  if  shot  from  a  catapult,  but  after  feeling  of 
his  headdress   and  person  in  general,  said  no 
harm  was  done.     It  was  not  far  from  Teung- 
hwa-sung,  that  we  met  two  old  wayfarers,  each 
carrying  a  bundle  and  a  heavy  club.     A  sudden 
misunderstanding  arose  between  them  and  our 
cartmen,  over  what  we  have  never  been  able  to 
understand.     They  talked  together  for  a  few 
minutes   in  an  animated  way  without  coming 
to  any  conclusion,  and  then  armed  with  clubs 
all  round,  went  for  one  another.     There  were 
no  striking  of  attitudes  and  tableaux,  such  as 
we  see  in  Korea,  but  good  hard  fighting  with 
blows  that  echoed.     It  was  refreshing  indeed, 
for  it  taught  us  that  there  was  life  still  in  the 
Far  East.     We  viewed  it  from  our  reserved 
seats  in  the  cart,  not  without  anxiety  lest  these 
tawny  wayfarers  should  kill  our  cartmen,  and 
leave  the  further  education  and  bringing  up  of 
the   mules   on    our    hands.     They    fought    so 
desperately  that  Pak  and  So  climbed  out  to  the 
rescue,  and  then  it  looked  as  though  Koreans 
and  all  might  perish.     It  was  only  upon  the 
entrance  of    "foreign-devils"  upon  the  scene, 
that  peace   was  finally  restored.      That  same 
evening  I  made  signs  of  inquiry  to  our  cartman 
as  to  the  general  state  of  his  health.     He  re- 
plied by  trying  to  lift  his  right  arm.     When  by 
dint  of  effort  he  got  it  to  the  horizontal,  his  ex- 


lOO  Korean  Sketches 

pressioii  of  suffering  reminded  me  of  a  face  in 
an  old  copy  of  Dante's  Inferno. 

With  such  variations  to  season  our  journey, 
we  left  the  clearings  behind  and  entered  the 
forest.  On  the  outskirts  we  passed  a  number 
of  coal-fields  that  showed  some  signs  of  life, 
but  otherwise  it  was  nearly  all  a  wilderness. 
There  was  an  inn  in  the  pine  forest  to  which 
the  carts  took  us,  but  beyond  there  was  only  a 
footpath.  It  was  twenty  miles  from  the  Yalu, 
and  as  there  was  no  coolie  market  to  draw 
from,  we  had  each  to  turn  in  and  shoulder  a 
bundle.  It  was  April  nineteenth,  but  in  the 
shaded  canon  through  which  the  path  led  the 
ice  was  still  seven  and  eight  feet  thick.  That 
afternoon  we  came  upon  a  wretched  Chinese 
family,  moving,  they  said,  to  Ma-er-shan,  a 
place  near  the  foot  of  the  Ever  White  Moun- 
tains. Their  horse  had  fallen  over  a  precipice 
and  had  scattered  their  few  provisions  and 
utensils  everywhere.  A  poor  woman,  with 
several  half -frozen  children,  was  looking  on 
helplessly  at  the  disintegrated  pony. 

After  ten  miles  that  seemed  twenty,  we 
found  a  Korean  hut,  and,  to  our  delight,  dined 
on  rice  and  kimcKi  (pickle)  once  more.  Here 
lived  one  of  the  many  squatters  that  we  find 
beyond  the  Yalu.  These  people  look  more 
prosperous  and  contented  there  than  in  their 
native  Choson.     This  strip  of  land  was  formerly 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  loi 

neutral  territory,  but  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the 
Chinese. 

We  slept  peacefully,  feeling  as  though  we 
were  home  after  our  wanderings.  Chinamen 
called  to  inspect  us,  but  they  never  seemed  to 
agree  as  to  just  what  we  were.  One  little  boy 
carrying  a  pipe  found  his  way  in  likewise.  This 
pipe  he  coolly  filled,  and  lit,  and  sat  down  to 
smoke  before  us.  I  inquired  his  age.  Pak  said 
he  was  five,  though  he  did  not  look  more  than 
four.  Never  having  seen  as  young  an  urchin  in- 
dulging in  the  art  of  tobacco  smoking  I  asked 
Pak  if  he  would  sell  his  pipe.  He  said  "  No ! " 
Pak  inquired  again,  and  then  young  Manchuria 
began  to  cry,  saying  tliat  he  would  not  sell  his 
pipe  for  anything  ;  in  which  case  we  would  not 
insist.  About  this  time  his  father  came  in,  and 
hearing  of  the  proposal  that  had  been  made, 
held  a  consultation  with  his  son.  When  they 
had  considered  the  question  on  all  sides,  Man- 
churia, junior,  offered  it  to  Pak  for  twenty 
cents.  We  gave  the  price  even  though  the  on- 
lookers did  smile  and  say  you  could  buy  a  new 
one  for  less  than  that.  We  bought  it,  I  say, 
and  we  keep  it  now  as  the  pipe  of  the  smallest 
boy  in  the  world  who  can  smoke  and  not  get 
sick. 

This  day  took  us  to  the  Yalu  once  again, 
though  smaller  than  at  Eui-ju,  still  a  swift  and 
powerful  river.     Our  crossing  was  at  a  lumber 


102  Korean  Sketches 

camp  where  several  hundred  Chinese  coolies 
were  hewing  timber.  Immense  logs,  four  and 
five  feet  in  diameter,  had  been  floated  down  the 
Yalu,  and  were  here  cut  up  and  carried  inland. 
Our  entrance  was  a  signal  to  stop  work.  They 
gathered  round  us,  not  a  very  orderly  looking 
group,  and  their  laughter  and  wonderment  was 
not  of  a  cultured  kind.  Pak  said  they  wanted 
eight  dollars  to  scow  us  over  the  river;  and 
when  he  told  them  that  we  carried  passports, 
issued  by  the  almighty  government  of  the 
Celestial  Empire,  these  celestials  merely  grinned, 
saying  they  feared  no  law  and  were  responsible 
to  no  empire.  Pak  said  he  would  give  no  more 
than  fifty  cents  if  we  waited  there  till  New 
Year,  so  there  was  nothing  for  the  rest  of  us  to 
do  but  to  wait  on  Pak.  An  hour  or  so  later, 
he  returned,  having  in  some  mysterious  way 
completely  won  the  victory,  for  they  scowed  us 
over  for  nothing — Pak  making  them  a  gift  of 
our  few  remaining  Chinese  cash.  It  seems  to 
me  it  requires  as  much  good  sense  and  skill  to 
manipulate  a  Chinese  lumber  camp,  as  it  does 
to  settle  a  fishery  question  or  manage  a  political 
party. 

It  was  the  same  Pak  that  came  home  to 
Korea  some  fifteen  years  ago,  teaching  doctrines 
about  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  eternal 
judgment,  so  that  his  superior  put  him  in  the 
lockup  and  paddled  him  that  he  might  sin  no 


The  Yalu  and  Beyond  103 

more.  Pak's  only  answer  in  his  far  north 
dialect  was,  "  You  may  paddle  me  but  you 
surely  cannot  stop  my  speaking.*'  Long  live 
Pak! 

That  afternoon  we  sat  on  a  mountain  pass 
and  took  a  last  farewell  of  the  lumber  camp, 
the  mountains  round  about,  and  the  winding 
Yalu. 


IV 

FEOM  POVERTY  TO  RICHES 

It  was  a  fierce  winter  day.  I  had  ridden 
some  forty  miles  across  the  plains  that  end  in  a 
stretch  of  mountains  separating  East  and  West 
Korea.  It  was  part  of  a  two  weeks'  journey,  in 
which  time  I  had  been  frost-bitten,  snowed 
under,  and  last  of  all,  had  had  to  break  a  way 
through  the  drifts  for  seventy  miles.  The 
mountains  seemed  to  have  been  buried  neck 
deep,  and  the  guide,  with  three  coolies  ahead, 
appeared  and  disappeared  at  the  mercy  of  the 
snow.  The  little  Korean  ponies,  noted  for 
their  sure-footedness,  completely  lost  their 
heads,  and  I  was  shot  into  the  drifts  time  and 
again,  while  the  poor  pony,  off  the  track,  would 
go  down  hopelessly  into  the  depths,  pack  and 
all. 

The  five  natives  with  me  complained  bitterly 
of  the  cold  and  of  the  wretched  country 
through  which  we  had  been  obliged  to  pass. 
They  grew  moody,  as  mortals  do  when  weary ; 
so  we  plodded  on  in  silence,  hoping  to  find  a 
room  in  a  village  in  the  next  ravine. 

Korean  huts  at  their  best  are  noisome  dens ; 
at  their  worst  as  you  find  them  in  mountain 
104 


From  Poverty  to  Riches  105 

villages,  they  are  indescribable.  A  night  passed 
in  one  of  these  has  more  soul-stirring  horrors 
than  all  of  Dante's  vision.  The  wind  that 
whistles  over  the  plains,  deals  with  you  in  a 
fierce,  yet  clean-handed  way,  but  the  atmos- 
phere that  enshrouds  you  at  night,  poisons  your 
very  lifeblood. 

It  was  in  the  village  of  To'-Song  or  Earthen 
Walls  that  we  were  to  stop.  In  the  dusk  of 
the  evening  we  wound  down  into  it  and  put  up 
at  an  inn,  where  I  noticed  an  old  man,  partly 
barefoot  in  the  snow,  tottering  in  with  two 
buckets  of  water.  His  shattered  condition 
caught  my  eye — for  Koreans,  though  they  have 
but  few  earthly  blessings,  dress  well  and  fare 
sumptuously.  When  I  had  a  chance  to  talk 
with  him,  I  found  him  a  gentle  spoken  native, 
who  as  I  learned  afterward,  carried  under  his 
ragged  dress  a  tender  heart  and  manifold  ex- 
periences of  want  and  suffering. 

He  had  walked  four  hundred  miles  from  his 
home  in  Kapsan  up  to  the  capital  which  he  had 
seen  for  the  first  time.  He  had  thought  to  get 
work  and  to  increase  his  little  money,  but  the 
undertaking  had  proven  a  failure.  With  his 
money  spent  and  the  residents  of  the  capital 
looking  askance  at  a  feeble  old  northerner,  he 
had  to  turn  homeward,  and,  working  his  way 
slowly,  had  reached  To'-song,  a  quarter  of  the 
distance. 


io6  Korean  Sketches 

I  tried  to  draw  the  old  man  out  in  order  to 
get  a  glimpse  if  possible  of  the  inner  self  of 
one  who  possessed  so  little  of  the  world's 
goods.  He  was  simple  and  childlike  in  his 
manner,  and  asked  respectfully  for  my  "  honor- 
able country."  I  told  him  I  had  come  over 
the  sea  from  away  beyond  everywhere  to  tell 
Koreans  about  the  God  who  made  the  world, 
and  who  certainly  loved  them.  He  confessed 
that  he  was  not  as  anxious  about  the  life  to 
come  as  he  was  about  a  little  meat  and  drink 
and  a  few  yards  of  plain  clothing  for  this  pres- 
ent world.  I  liked  his  honesty,  for  it  is  so 
easy  to  find  a  pious  oriental  with  full  stomach 
and  warm  suit,  all  of  which  is  due  to  a  hard- 
working woman,  proclaiming  himself  not  of  the 
earth  earthy. 

Nam,  for  that  was  his  name,  did  not  seem  in 
the  least  afraid  of  me,  but  sat  chatting  in  the 
doorway,  his  deep  hungry  eyes  and  hollow 
cheeks  telling  his  story  of  earth's  pilgrimage. 
As  I  sat  waiting  for  the  evening  meal  I  gave 
him  a  few  cash,  with  a  hint  that  I  would  be 
grateful  for  any  assistance  he  could  give  me 
against  the  unseen  armies  of  the  night.  The 
old  man  looked  carefully  about  him,  and  then, 
with  a  precision  that  did  my  heart  good,  took 
the  worth  of  several  such  strings  of  cash  out  of 
one  or  two  disreputable  insects  that  happened 
to  be  careering  along  the  wall  of  the  room.     I 


From  Poverty  to  Riches  107 

date  this  point  as  the  heginning  of  a  frieDdship, 
which  I  hope  may  last  many  a  year. 

The  supper  was  brought  in  steaming,  and 
smelling  of  pickle,  soup,  and  stringy  looking 
meats— usually  called  "dog"  by  foreigners 
who  have  never  tasted  of  them.  It  was  a 
welcome  odor,  and  as  I  took  up  the  chopsticks. 
Nam  wished  me  a  "  mighty  dinner  "  and  with- 
drew. What  were  the  old  man's  thoughts  I 
know  not,  but  if  he  had  no  greedy  longing  in 
his  heart  for  my  lot,  I  should  say  he  was  not 
far  from  the  kingdom — as  an  Oriental  so  situ- 
ated would  naturally  speak  flatteringly,  while 
thinking,  "  see  the  foreign  dog  devouring  the 
best  of  the  land,  while  I,  a  child  of  ancestral 
promise,  go  hungry  !  '* 

In  the  course  of  time  the  supper  odors  and 
the  musty  room  faded  away,  the  dogs  grew 
quiet,  the  ponies  under  the  eaves  ceased  their 
munching,  and  with  gates  barred  and  doors 
pulled  tight,  we  slept ;  Nam  to  be  free  from 
want  and  poverty,  and  I  to  dream  of  a  happy 
home  awaiting  me  after  the  mountains  and 
storms  of  the  journey :  in  miniature  a  picture 
of  a  longer  pilgrimage,  and  the  Home  of  Light, 
awaiting  all  who  trust  in  The  Light  of  Life. 

I  slept,  baked  almost  brown  by  the  frying- 
pan  floor.  This  floor,  by  the  way,  is  the  delight 
of  every  truly  Korean  heart,  and  in  no  particu- 
lar  does   our  barbarian  nature  seem  to  them 


lo8  Korean  Sketches 

more  hopelessly  depraved,  than  in  our  antipathy 
for  their  ways  and  means  of  sleeping. 

As  usual,  the  Koreans  were  up  at  first  cock- 
crow, about  1:30  A.  M.,  feeding  their  ponies 
in  preparation  for  an  early  start,  as  they  say, 
at  about  seven  o'clock.  There  was  a  constant 
noise, — the  cutting  of  straw,  the  dipping  and 
pouring  of  water,  the  crackling  of  fires,  and  the 
flup-flup  of  the  ponies'  lips,  in  their  efforts  to 
get  a  few  beans  from  the  bottom  of  a  trough  of 
water.  Old  Nam  was  up  and  hard  at  it.  Had 
he  not  been  a  Korean  I  should  never  have  for- 
given him  for  such  an  unseemly  uproar.  I 
used  to  tell  Koreans  that  two  hours'  feeding 
was  sufficient  to  prepare  any  pony  for  a  journey 
of  fifteen  miles,  and  that  time  spent  above  this 
was  labor  in  vain,  disturbing  the  peace  of  the 
household,  and  wearing  out  the  patience  of  the 
pony ;  but  it  had  just  as  much  effect,  as  if  I  had 
requested  the  fowls  perched  above  my  door  to 
desist  from  immoderate  crowing.  Brute  force 
is  the  only  earthly  power  I  know  of  that  will 
stop  either  Korean  natives  or  fowls  from  going 
persistently  along  the  way  of  their  ancestors. 
Cockcrowing  is  something  that  I  took  but  little 
note  of  at  home.  In  fact,  since  the  introduction 
of  clocks  and  watches,  our  fowls  have,  I  think, 
lost  the  art.  But  Korean  birds,  with  all  the 
field  to  themselves,  have  gone  on  vying  with 
each   other  for  the  last  three  thousand  years, 


From  Poverty  to  Riches  109 

until  now  their  crowing  has  attained  a  perfect 
steam-whistle  pitch. 

Such  were  the  surroundings  of  old  Nam  the 
morning  following  our  first  acquaintance.  A 
fire  of  pine  knots  lighted  up  the  quadrangle 
within  the  low  thatched  roofs,  showing  the 
ponies  with  long  lips  and  dejected  countenances, 
dogs  growling  and  shivering,  the  proprietor  with 
towsy  head  looking  on,  and  Nam,  the  moving 
figure  in  the  picture,  busy  at  his  work. 

I  told  him,  among  other  things,  that  if  ever 
he  should  pass  Gensan  in  his  wanderings  please 
to  call  on  me,  and  if  I  happened  to  have  work 
on  hand,  I  would  be  glad  to  help  him  to  it. 
After  breakfast  he  led  my  pony  out,  helped  me 
to  a  comfortable  seat  in  the  pack,  and  then, 
with  profound  bow  and  many  thanks,  saw  me 
off. 

I  was  to  be  home  in  two  days.  This  was  in- 
spiration enough  to  carry  me  unconsciously 
over  the  range  of  mountains ;  and  on  the 
second  day,  after  various  mishaps  and  good 
fortunes,  I  started  out  of  Nam-san  on  foot,  a 
short  distance  in  advance  of  my  ponies.  To  go 
afoot  in  Korea,  is  to  call  down  upon  your  head 
the  contempt  of  the  multitude.  And  yet,  when 
it  suits  best  my  convenience,  I  intend  to  go 
afoot,  even  though  it  be  to  the  utter  confusion 
of  my  best  native  friends.  At  the  time  I  men- 
tion, I  was   passing  through  a  quiet  grove  of 


no  Korean  Sketches 

trees,  feeling  how  strange  and  wonderful  it  was 
that  I  should  be  blessed  so  far  above  old  Nam 
and  other  poor  mortals.  A  sort  of  kindly  feel- 
ing had  settled  over  me  for  Koreans  in  general, 
when,  at  a  turn  in  the  trees,  I  was  suddenly- 
accosted  by  two  portly-looking,  swellish  gen- 
tlemen, who  in  the  lowest  possible  terms, 
asked  me  what  kind  of  beast  I  was,  where  I 
had  been  stabled,  and  whither  I  was  hoofing  it. 
My  blood  was  up  at  once,  and  I  asked  them 
the  reason  for  thus  stopping  me.  This  seemed 
to  heighten  the  joke  in  their  eyes,  and  furnish 
them  with  fresh  material  for  mirth.  I  did  not 
feel  quite  willing  to  honor  them  with  righteous 
anger,  and  yet  this  was  clearly  a  case  where 
something  must  be  done.  So  before  he  was 
aware,  I  took  a  gentle  grip  of  the  neck  folds  of 
the  chief  speaker's  coat,  and  said:  '* Gentle- 
men, it  is  a  fact,  you  may  talk  to  me  thus  with 
impunity,  for  I  am  a  soft  and  gentle  mortal, 
but,"  tightening  my  grip  the  while,  '*if  you 
talk  like  this  to  other  westerners,  they  will  cer- 
tainly reply  thus," — at  which  I  brought  down 
my  oak  cane,  and  repeated  the  blow  in  such  a 
way  as  to  take  every  atom  of  dust  out  of  those 
far-Eastern  trousers.  The  second  gentleman, 
evidently  convinced  by  the  demonstration, 
moved  quietly  away.  The  one  in  hand  begged 
my  pardon  as  a  "great  man"  (ta-in),  and  con- 
fessed  that   he   had  no   idea   that   I   was   the 


From  Poverty  to  Riches  1 1 1 

refined  and  cultured  gentleman  that  he  now- 
felt  me  to  be.  And  so  we  parted,  each  of  us 
having  furnished  the  other  with  an  item  of  ex- 
perience. 

A  month  and  more  had  passed  since  my  safe 
return  home,  when  one  morning  my  boy  came 
to  say  that  an  old  man  had  called  and  wished 
to  see  me.  I  asked  him  in,  and  who  should  it 
turn  out  to  be  but  Nam.  He  had  put  on  a  less 
ragged  coat  over  his  tattered  garments,  which 
so  improved  his  appearance  that  he  looked  at 
me  as  though  life  were  still  full  of  promise.  He 
had  come  to  see  and  to  thank  me,  and  to  find 
whether  I  had  some  work  that  he  could  do.  I 
had  wood  to  split,  and  roots  to  dig,  shortly,  and 
so  we  entered  into  contract — Nam  to  work  for 
me,  and  I  to  pay  him  as  I  thought  best.  He 
was  so  gentle  and  mild  that  I  feared  the  sticks 
would  suffer  but  little  at  his  hands  ;  and  yet  not 
80,  for  with  tobacco  enough  to  lend  him  inspi- 
ration, he  faithfully  executed  the  tasks  assigned. 
I  can  see  him  still,  as  he  was  in  those  days  of 
his  adversity,  his  gentle  face  set  against  that 
wood  pile,  and  can  hear  his  soft  tones  asking  my 
advice  about  the  work. 

I  have  a  native  assistant  who  is  built  after 
the  plan  of  an  Egyptian  taskmaster.  He  in- 
variably regards  gentleness  of  manner  as  a" 
sign  of  lurking  deceit,  and  anything  like  soft- 
ness of  speech  he  abhors.     He  eyed  Nam,  some- 


112  Korean  Sketches 

what  in  the  way  a  thistle  might  look  dowu  upon 
a  milkweed,  feeling  certain  that  the  latter 
would  come  to  no  good  end,  and  accused  him 
of  uttering  falsehoods  in  his  hearing.  "  He 
says,"  protested  my  assistant,  "  that  he  has  a 
home  up  north,  cows,  and  fields,  and  sufficient 
to  live  on,  and  now  he  wants  to  make  a  little 
money  so  as  to  buy  a  few  clothes  and  go  back 
looking  decent.  The  idea  of  an  old  offspring 
of  that  kind  talking  about  owning  cows." 
"  Wait  and  see,"  I  said,  **  don't  condemn  the 
old  man  so  hastily ;  "  but  his  mind  was  like  a 
millstone,  and  Nam  henceforth  stood  con- 
demned. 

Two  months  passed,  and  he  was  still  with  us, 
little  better  in  appearance,  it  is  true,  for  he  was 
saving  his  extra  cash  together  with  the  clothes 
we  gave  him.  He  seemed  happy,  and  every 
morning  sat  in  the  doorway  listening  to  the 
Bible-story  of  sin  and  death  and  ransom.  We 
tried  to  make  it  plain,  and  though  seeming  to 
fail,  we  trusted  that  God  would  open  his  heart 
to  receive  it.  He  thought  it  very  wonderful 
that  God  should  speak  so  plainly — that  He 
should  have  come  down  to  earth,  and  have 
lived,  and  been  poor,  and,  stranger  still,  should 
have  offered  himself  a  sacrifice  for  us  all. 

He  was  quite  a  farmer  in  his  way.  He 
taught  me  how  to  plant  pines  and  willows. 
Said  he  "  Plant  the  large  end  of  the  limb  and 


From  Poverty  to  Riches  113 

you  get  a  common  willow ;  reverse  it,  plant  the 
small  end  and  you  get  a  weeping  willow ;  which 
idea  I  found  to  be  interesting  even  though  it 
did  not  prove  actually  true.  He  managed  the 
gardening,  took  care  of  the  flowers,  and  would 
search  out  a  bug  or  thieving  insect  with  great 
success.  He  informed  me  one  morning  that  a 
certain  creature,  something  in  the  form  of  a 
mosquito  (mo-gi),  was  after  our  strawberry 
plants.  My  wife's  interest  in  strawberries  had 
never  flagged,  even  through  whole  seasons  of 
bare  vines,  so  I  said  **  My  wife  would  be  glad,  I 
know,  if  you  could  capture  that  bug."  He  came 
a  few  mornings  later,  saying  that  he  was  happy 
to  report  to  me  that  he  had  risen  before  day- 
break and  caught  that  mosquito,  and  that  now 
we  might  expect  strawberries  in  the  near 
future. 

Another  morning,  all  unexpectedly,  the  old 
man  came  to  say  that,  now  the  snow  was  gone, 
he  would  have  to  go  back  to  see  how  his  home 
was  in  the  far  north  (Kapsan).  I  told  him  how 
sorry  we  would  be  to  have  him  go ;  but  it  seemed 
best,  and  Nam  came  with  his  new  white  overcoat 
on  to  bid  us  peace  and  farewell.  I  saw  wrapped 
away  in  his  little  bundle  of  earthly  possessions 
a  few  tracts  and  parts  of  the  New  Testament. 
Did  he  know  the  secret  of  these  as  we  hoped 
and  prayed  ?  With  many  expressions  of  thank- 
fulness,  the    worn    face    disappeared,  and    the 


114  Korean  Sketches 

gentle  spirit  in  its  plebeian  dress  had  gone  and 
left  us. 

A  man's  place  in  life  is  not  always  to  be 
judged  by  what  he  owns  or  by  the  cut  of  coat 
he  wears.  Sometimes  people  that  own  nothing, 
and  wear  any  kind  of  coat  that  is  given  them, 
have  eyes  that  stir  our  souls,  and  lines  in  their 
faces  that  move  to  tears.  A  tender  soul  look- 
ing out  inquiringly  or  trustingly  from  its 
earthly  windows,  is  worth  meeting  in  a  world 
so  full  of  hardness,  and  hatred,  and  cast-iron 
perfection. 

The  summer  wore  round.  Four  months  had 
passed  away,  when  on  a  certain  afternoon,  a 
well-dressed  figure  with  fresh  lacquered  hat 
came  in  at  the  gate,  and  turned  toward  my 
room.  The  face  I  knew,  but  there  was  some- 
thing strange.  Why !  yes,  it  was  Nam,  all 
dressed  up  'tis  true,  but  just  as  gentle  and  re- 
spectful as  ever.  I  said,  "  Why,  friend  Nam  I 
Is  it  peace?  How  comes  it?"  He  first  in- 
quired for  my  wife  and  little  girls,  and  then 
told  me  how  he  had  been  home,  and  was  now 
returning  with  two  of  his  cows  to  sell  in  the 
Japanese  market.  Two  cows  to  sell !  Why  I 
could  not  have  been  more  surprised  if  he  had  told 
me  he  was  a  millionaire ;  and  yet  he  did  not  look 
at  me  proudly.  I  saw  he  could  be  great,  and 
not  be  ruined;  something  so  little  seen  on 
earth.     I  told  him  how  glad  I  would  be  to  have 


From  Poverty  to  Riches  115 

him  call  often  while  he  stayed,  and  offered  him 
a  seat,  which  he  declined  out  of  respect  to  me. 
My  Egyptian  assistant  was  as  surprised  as  if 
the  angel  Gabriel  had  met  him.  He  tried  to 
reconcile  this  with  human  nature  in  general. 
I  doubt  not  he  searched  the  Chinese  classics  to 
find  if  it  were  possible  for  gentleness  and  hu- 
mility ever  to  keep  company  with  prosperity 
and  earthly  possessions.  Yang  said  to  me  "  I 
thought  Nam  So-bang  was  false,  but  he  is  true, 
eveTy  inch  of  him;  in  fact  he  is  a  wonderful  old 
man."  I  went  out  to  where  he  had  his  cows 
tethered  on  the  hillside  to  see  him.  One  was 
a  red  cow,  the  other  brown,  both  in  good  con- 
dition. A  few  days  later  he  sold  them  to  the 
Japanese  for  forty-five  dollars. 

It  was  the  first  time  I  had  ever  seen  a  man  of 
the  people  with  no  debts  and  so  large  a  supply 
of  cash  on  hand.  The  Egyptian  and  his  asso- 
ciates were  speechless.  I  suggested  that  they 
might  do  well  to  kow-toiu  (bow  down)  before  so 
worthy  a  Korean  as  Nam,  for  as  for  me,  I  had 
seldom  seen  his  like. 

One  more  interview.  As  he  was  leaving  for 
his  home  he  came  to  ask  for  four  of  the  books 
that  told  about  Jesus.  They  had  read  what  he 
had  taken  before,  and  now  he  wanted  a  New 
Testament  each  for  three  families,  and  one  for 
his  own.  He  said  they  could  read  the  Chinese 
characters  in  these  homes,  and  besides,  he  would 


ii6  Korean  Sketches 

tell  them  what  he  himself  had  heard  about  sal- 
vation. 

We  told  Nam  that  we  would  never  forget 
him,  and  my  wife  joined  me  in  wishing  him  peace 
on  his  journey — the  peace  that  passeth  under- 
standing. 


THE  KOREAN  PONT 

Among  the  creatures  that  have  crossed  my 
path,  the  one  that  has  had  the  most  influence 
on  my  personal  character  is  the  Korean  pony. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  recount  the  varied 
experiences  through  which  he  has  led  me.  In- 
stead of  lifting  my  hand  and  pointing  to  some 
noted  professor  or  eminent  divine,  as  the  master 
spirit  of  my  life,  I  stand  a  safe  distance  off, 
point  to  the  Korean  pony,  and  say,  '*  He  has 
brought  more  out  of  me  than  all  of  the  others 
combined,"  In  his  company  I  have  been  sur- 
prised at  the  amount  of  concentrated  evil  I 
have  found  in  my  heart ;  again,  as  he  has  car- 
ried me  safely  along  the  dizziest  edge^  I  could 
have  turned  angel  and  taken  him  upon  my 
back. 

My  usual  pony  has  been,  not  one  of  your 
well-groomed  steeds  from  the  palace  stables,  but 
a  long-haired,  hide-bound  one,  for  which  your 
whole  heart  goes  out  in  pity.  "  Weak  crea- 
ture," you  say,  "how  easy  it  would  be  for  him 
to  expire."  But  after  a  little  experience  of  his 
company  you  change  your  mind ;  for  you  find 
his  heels  are  charged  with  the  vitality  of  forked 
117 


ii8  Korean  Sketches 

lightning,  and  that  upon  slight  provocation 
he  could  bite  through  six  inch  armor-plate. 
Experience  has  taught  me  to  treat  him  care- 
fully, as  you  would  an  old  fowling-piece  loaded 
to  kill,  and  in  danger  of  going  off  at  any  mo- 
ment. 

Korean  ponies  hail  principally  from  the  south- 
ern island  of  Quelpart,  from  the  group  off  the 
west  of  P'yong-an,  and  from  Ham-Kyong  prov- 
ince. A  Manchu  breed  is  being  introduced  of 
late,  but  they  are  more  bulky,  harder  to  feed, 
and  not  nearly  as  good  roadsters. 

The  breeding  districts  are  under  charge  of 
officers  named  Kammoh.  They  have  with  them 
keepers,  who  twice  each  year,  lasso  a  certain 
number  of  ponies  and  send  them  to  the  palace. 
There  they  pass  their  palmy  days.  When  their 
hair  grows  long  and  they  take  on  a  sheep-like 
look,  they  are  turned  out  through  the  back  gate 
and  become  pack-ponies,  carrying  goods  along 
the  four  main  roads  of  Korea.  They  keep  this 
up  until  they  develop  ringbone,  spavin,  raw- 
back,  windgalls  and  heaves.  Then  they  are 
bought  by  a  Korean  living  near  the  "New  Gate," 
and  for  the  remainder  of  their  mortal  existence 
are  used  specially  to  carry  foreigners.  The  fact 
that  the  animal  is  dangerously  ill,  and  the  risk 
so  much  the  greater,  accounts  for  the  double 
charge  made  to  all  foreigners  by  the  man  at  the 
*'  New  Gate." 


The   Korean   Pony  119 

The  Korean  pony  figures  in  literary  and  sci- 
entific ways  as  well.  He  is  the  animal  of  the 
twenty-fifth  constellation,  and  appears  specially 
as  the  symbolical  creature  of  the  seventh  Korean 
hour  (11  A.  M.  to  1  P.  M.).  This  doubtless  re- 
fers to  the  fact  that  he  eats  his  chook  at  that 
time,  though  11  to  2  would  have  been  a  more 
correct  division.  We  read  also  that  his  com- 
pass point  is  south.  Probably  the  inventor 
of  the  Horary  Table  was  on  his  way  north  at 
the  time,  and  finding  that  his  pony  naturally 
gravitated  the  other  way,  marked  it  south.  His 
poetical  name  is  toncliang  (honest  sheep).  While 
the  noun  here  is  well  chosen,  the  adjective  is 
purely  fictitious,  as  we  say  *' honest  injiin." 

In  size,  when  alongside  of  a  Western  horse, 
he  looks  like  a  ten-year-old  boy  accompanying 
his  grandfather,  or  like  an  ordinary  Japanese 
walking  out  with  Li  Hung  Chang. 

His  gait  is  a  peculiar  pitter-patter,  and  rides 
very  nicely  until  he  reaches  the  raw-backed, 
spavin  age,  when  he  stumbles  every  few  paces, 
calling  forth  remarks  from  the  foreigner.  The 
so-called  Chinese  ponies  are  all  rough,  awkward 
creatures.  A  pack  on  one  of  them  heaves  up 
and  down  like  an  old-fashioned  walking-beam ; 
while  a  Korean  pony,  in  good  condition,  glides 
along  like  a  palace  Pullman.  For  a  journey 
over  such  roads  as  we  have,  a  small  Korean 
horse  will  use  up  a  large  Chinese  pony  in  less 


120  Korean  Sketches 

than  three  days,  as  I  have  found  by  actual  ex- 
periment. 

Their  sure-footedness  is  a  marvel.  If  you 
have  been  fortunate  enough  to  escape  the  man 
at  the  "  New  Gate/'  and  have  really  secured  a 
good  pony,  then  give  him  his  way  over  all 
dangers  of  ice  and  precipice  that  you  may 
chance  to  pass.  Sit  perfectly  cool  on  your 
pack,  for  the  danger  is  less  when  trusting  to 
him  than  to  your  own  feet.  How  my  heart  has 
risen  to  the  occasion,  and  taken  up  its  quarters 
in  my  mouth,  as  I  have  felt  him  glide  along  an 
eight  inch  path,  overlooking  a  chasm  with 
twelve  feet  of  green  cold  water  below.  But 
never  a  failure,  never  once  a  slip.  At  such 
times,  had  I  been  in  search  of  a  joss  to  crack  my 
head  to,  I  should  have  enshrined  my  Korean 
pony. 

And  yet  in  spite  of  these  excellencies  my  open- 
ing remarks  are  true,  for  in  heart  and  soul  he  is 
a  perfect  fiend.  Obstinacy  is  one  of  his  com- 
monest characteristics.  He  will  have  his  own 
way  as  assuredly  as  any  Korean  coolie  will 
have  his.  When  the  notion  takes  him,  his 
neck  is  of  brass,  and  his  ideas  fixed  as  the 
king's  ell. 

His  diet  is  chook  and  chopped  millet  straw. 
Chooh  is  boiled  beans  and  rice  chaff,  and  is  fed 
to  the  pony  in  a  trough  of  water.  The  beans 
are  very  few,  the  water  very  deep.     The  long 


The   Korean   Pony  121 

lips  and  nose  of  the  Korean  pony  is  an  evolu- 
tion of  nature  in  order  to  capture  that  bean  in 
the  bottom  of  a  trough  of  water :  he  has  been 
after  it  for  generations.  Another  result  is,  the 
pony  can  breathe  through  his  eyes  while  his 
nose  is  a  foot  deep  in  chook  water  hunting 
beans. 

The  fact  that  the  water  is  always  colored, 
leaves  it  uncertain  as  to  the  amount  put  in, 
and  grievous  are  the  disputations  that  arise 
over  an  equal  division  of.  these  beans.  On  one 
of  my  journeys  I  had  for  groom  (mapu)  a 
huge-trousered,  pockmarked  fellow,  whose  dis- 
position seemed  to  be  to  get  into  disputes  and 
difficulties  along  the  way.  The  pony  I  rode 
was  a  long  nosed,  dejected  creature,  that  re- 
quired three  hours  to  feed.  On  one  occasion  I 
went  out  to  hurry  the  animal  up,  and  found  it 
eye-deep  in  its  trough,  apparently  having  an 
extra  good  time.  The  innkeeper  happening  to 
pass  by  saw  the  twinkle  in  the  pony's  eyes,  and 
concluded  that  the  mapu  had  "  squeezed  "  his 
beans.  Immediately  a  most  interesting  drama 
was  enacted,  passing  rapidly  through  the  various 
acts  of  a  tragedy.  *'  To  perdition,  you  and  your 
beans,"  cries  the  mapUy  meanwhile,  currying  his 
pony.  With  that,  in  a  burst  of  tragic  frenzy, 
the  innkeeper  seizing  the  brimming  trough  of 
chook,  poised  it  in  the  air,  and  let  fly  at  the 
mapu.     With  all  the  centrifugal  force  of  a  pro- 


122  Korean  Sketches 

jectile,  the  trough  grazed  the  pony's  back  and 
shot  by  the  mapu;  the  water,  taking  the  centrip- 
etal route,  showered  down  over  the  head  and 
shoulders  of  the  innkeeper  himself,  the  beans 
gliding  gently  down  his  neck.  People  speak  of 
a  horse-laugh,  but  a  pony's  smile  is  something 
that  in  water}^  richness  of  expression  surpasses 
everything.  That  dejected  looking  pony  smiled, 
and  we  resumed  our  journey. 

They  never  allow  the  pony  to  drink  cold 
water,  *'  It  is  sure  death,"  they  say ;  neither  do 
they  allow  him  to  lie  down  at  night,  but  keep 
him  strung  up  to  a  pole  overhead  by  ropes,  so 
that  the  creature  is  perfectly  helpless,  and  all 
the  roosters  of  the  village  warm  their  feet  on 
his  back  and  crow  the  place  into  a  perfect 
pandemonium. 

The  work  of  feeding  ponies,  as  I  have 
before  mentioned  seems  endless  to  one  un- 
initiated. For  a  seven  o'clock  start  in  the 
morning  you  hear  them  up  at  half-past  one  slop- 
ping, dishing,  crunching,  jangling,  wearying  the 
life  out  of  the  miserable  ponies.  I  begged  and 
implored,  but  it  was  all  in  vain,  for  when  a 
Korean  pony  and  a  native  combine  in  some  pet 
scheme,  it  is  as  useless  to  remonstrate  as  it 
would  be  to  *'  pick  a  quarrel  wi'  a  stane  wa'." 

By  way  of  poetic  justice,  I  love  to  see  the 
pony  shod — see  him  pinioned  tooth  and  nail, 
bound    head,  feet,  and   tail  in  one  hard  knot, 


The   Korean   Pony  123 

lying  on  his  back  under  the  spreading  chestnut 
tree,  with  the  village  smithy  putting  tacks  into 
him  that  brings  tears  to  his  eyes.  But  seasons 
like  this  are  all  too  short  to  square  up  with  him 
for  the  sins  of  his  everyday  existence. 

To  conclude  by  way  of  illustration  :  I  was  on 
a  journey  through  the  south,  and  had  reached 
the  city  of  Tagu,  the  capital  of  Kyiing-sang 
province.  There  my  pony  took  sick,  and  not 
being  able  to  find  one  for  hire,  I  asked  one  of 
the  mayor  of  the  city.  The  morning  I  was  to 
leave  he  sent  me  round  a  perfect  whirlwind  of 
a  pony.  This  was  number  one  of  a  courier 
service,  which  necessitated  changing  horses 
every  five  miles.  In  the  fourteen  or  fifteen 
animals  that  I  enjoyed  for  the  next  three  days, 
I  had  an  excellent  demonstration  of  the  merits 
and  defects  of  the  Korean  pony.  As  mentioned, 
the  first  horse  was  a  great  success,  the  next  one 
also  was  in  good  condition  and  fairly  well  pro- 
portioned. On  mounting,  however,  I  found  he 
had  a  peculiar  gate.  A  limp  that  defied  all  my 
efforts  to  locate  seemed  in  fact  to  possess  his 
entire  being;  a  jerking  that  left  one's  inmost 
soul  in  shreds.  The  inconvenience  of  this  five 
miles  was  indescribable.  Taken  all-in-all,  he 
was  the  most  uncomfortable  horse  I  have  ever 
had  anything  to  do  with.  Glad  was  I  to  hand 
him  over  at  the  next  post-house.  Pony  number 
three  was  soon  in  waiting.     He  carried  me  out 


124  Korean  Sketches 

of  the  yard  brilliantly.  The  road  skirted  the 
bank  of  a  river.  A  magnificent  view,  thought 
I,  and  a  pleasant  pony  to  ride  on ;  when  sud- 
denly he  stopped,  reversed  all  his  ideas  and  be- 
gan backing  at  a  dangerous  pace  directly  for 
the  edge.  I  managed  to  get  off  just  in  time  to 
save  myself,  and  then,  thinking  to  teach  him  a 
lesson  by  a  good  shaking  up,  attempted  to 
assist  him  over  the  side.  But  no  !  he  skillfully 
grazed  the  edge  at  an  angle  sufficient  to  have 
dumped  anything  from  his  back,  and  righted 
himself  again  as  neatly  as  though  he  had  done 
it  a  thousand  times.  Evidently,  it  was  a  scheme 
on  his  part  to  take  my  life.  I  tried  him,  found 
him  guilty,  and  sentenced  him  to  as  many  lashes 
as  the  whalebone  in  my  possession  would  mete 
out.  I  used  it  up — the  only  thing  in  all  my  per- 
sonal effects  that  the  natives  admired — and 
then,  on  the  advice  of  Mr.  Yi,  decided  to  walk 
till  the  landscape  was  a  little  less  picturesque. 
When  we  had  left  the  river  and  gained  the  open 
fields,  I  tried  him  again,  thinking  surely  that 
his  spirit  must  be  broken  by  this  time.  But  it 
was  not  long  till  the  old  sensations  took  him, 
and  he  was  again  backing  up  at  terrific  speed. 
As  there  was  no  immediate  danger,  I  thought  to 
let  him  back,  which  he  did  until  he  had  run  me 
into  a  bristling  shrub,  that  lifted  my  hat  off, 
combed  me  up  generally,  and  marked  my  face. 
Having  no  more  whalebone  I  gave  him  up  en- 


The  Korean   Pony  125 

tirely,  and  footed  it  for  the  remainder  of  the 
distance. 

Then  came  three  indifferent  animals  that  just 
managed  to  make  their  five  miles.  Mr.  Yi,  in 
every  case,  gave  special  orders  to  provide  good 
horses,  and  the  answer  of  the  post-house  keeper 
was  invariably  so  bland  and  righteous  like,  that 
I  could  have  seen  him  caned,  knowing  how 
little  these  answers  meant.  After  one  of  the 
most  immaculate  keepers  on  the  whole  way 
had  professed  to  have  gotten  an  excellent  pony, 
we  again  moved  on.  When  the  creature  was 
far  enough  away  from  the  stable  to  protect  his 
master  from  any  assault  on  our  part,  he  lay 
down  peacefully  in  the  middle  of  the  road. 
There  he  remained  until  lifted  bodily  by  tail 
and  ears,  and  then  he  refused  to  put  his  feet 
squarely  on  the  ground,  Mr.  Yi  and  the  two 
pony  boys  straining  themselves  to  the  utmost 
to  hold  him  erect. 

The  last  one  that  I  felt  particularly  incensed 
against,  was  a  ragged  looking  beast  that  was 
troubled  with  a  weakness  in  its  fore  quarters. 
Without  the  slightest  provocation  he  was  all 
the  time  going  down  on  his  nose,  his  hinder 
parts,  however,  keeping  perfectly  erect.  If  his 
strength  could  have  been  more  equally  divided 
fore  and  aft,  he  might  have  made  a  passable 
pony ;  but  as  it  was,  no  forelegs  at  all  would 
have  been  the  only  honest  turn-out.     The  crea- 


126  Korean  Sketches 

ture  hobbled  along,  kept  me  in  a  state  of  con- 
stant suspense,  played  on  my  hopes  and  fears 
most  cruelly,  and  at  last,  in  an  utter  collapse, 
pitched  me  clear  over  his  head,  to  the  total  de- 
struction of  my  personal  appearance. 


VI 

ACEOSS  KOEEA  * 

During  the  past  eight  years  it  has  been  my 
misfortune,  shall  I  say,  to  have  crossed  the 
peninsula  of  Korea  twelve  times,  by  different 
roads,  and  at  different  seasons  of  the  year.  No 
other  American  or  European  having  had  such 
a  varied  experience  of  the  crossroads  of  the 
hermit  kingdom,  I  have  thought  it  a  subject 
upon  which  I  might  venture  to  write. 

Korean  historical  associations  are  connected 
with  the  far  north.  Keui-ja,  who  was  a  sort  of 
Christopher  Columbus  and  George  Washington 
combined,  crossed  the  Yalu,  bringing  civiliza- 
tion and  deliverance  with  him.  The  Puynites, 
an  interesting  race,  who  gradually  overran  the 
peninsula,  lived  at  the  foot  of  the  Ever  White 
Mountain,  which  still  stands,  like  a  silent  senti- 
nel, on  guard  against  Russia.  All  the  old  tales 
of  heroes  and  marvellous  mysteries  gather 
about  the  far  north  ;  and  it  was  in  the  hope  of 
verifying  some  of  these  that  I  resolved  to  make 
a  trip  from  Manchuria  knowing  that  no  West- 
erner had  yet  penetrated  eastward  from  the 
Yalu  through  the  region  that  I  most  desired  to 
see. 

'  Written  for  the  Yokohama  Literary  Society. 
127 


128  Korean  Sketches 

There  were  seven  of  us  in  the  party,  five 
Koreans  and  two  Americans,  who,  in  the  month 
of  April,  crossed  the  river  three  hundred  miles 
from  its  mouth,  about  midway  between  the  forty- 
first  and  forty-second  parallels  of  latitude,  and 
started  eastward. 

The  river,  here  some  three  hundred  yards 
wide,  is  swift  and  powerful,  and  we  should 
never  have  been  able  to  cross,  but  for  a  yellow- 
faced  opium-smoking  Chinaman,  who,  after 
nearly  half-a-day's  parleying,  agreed  to  let  us 
have  his  boat. 

After  a  walk  over  abrupt  hills  covered  with 
birch,  beeches,  and  pines,  we  came  suddenly 
upon  the  Korean  town  of  Chasong  situated  in 
a  valley  on  the  bank  of  a  river.  It  is  built  of 
low  mud  huts,  with  slabs  of  wood  instead  of 
thatch  to  protect  from  the  rain.  The  inhabi- 
tants poured  out  with  a  rush,  man,  woman  and 
child,  to  see  what  was  coming.  How  so  many 
white  coats  can  assemble  in  so  short  a  time,  is 
one  of  the  mysteries  that  we  never  try  to  solve 
in  Korea.  One  long,  lanky  fellow,  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  crowd,  made  a  sort  of  hunchback 
nod  at  me  and  said,  "  Ugh  !  what  are  you  ?  " 
We  took  a  step  or  two  toward  him,  and  gave  a 
look  to  signify  that  we  were  from  the  cannibal 
islands.  At  once  he  was  polite,  and  all  his 
companions  fell  into  line.  They  were  exceed- 
ingly kind  and  gave  us  the  best  they  had  in  the 


Across  Korea  120 

way  of  fare ;  but  to  the  last,  I  really  believe 
they  did  not  know  whether  we  were  men  or 
evil  spirits — never  having  seen  a  Westerner  be- 
fore. 

The  natives  were  dressed,  as  elsewhere,  in  a 
white  suit  made  up  of  huge  baggy  trousers  and 
padded  jacket.  For  headgear  they  wore  a 
horsehair  band,  keyed  so  tightly  that  every  line 
of  expression  was  stretched  out  of  the  face, 
with  scarcely  enough  muscular  freedom  for  the 
eyes  to  close.  The  whole  was  surmounted  by 
a  broad-brimmed,  gauze  hat,  whose  duty  is  not 
to  shade  the  head,  but  to  cage  off  that  precious 
badge  of  citizenship,  the  topknot.  The  most 
overwhelming  part  of  a  Korean's  dress  is  his 
trousers.  When  worn  they  are  not  so  surprising; 
but  when  seen  on  a  clothes  line  or  stretched  on 
the  grass  to  dry,  they  are  simply  prodigious. 
I  might  say,  that  in  width,  an  ordinary  Korean's 
pantaloons  would  amply  cover  the  nakedness 
of  the  largest  Buddha  in  the  far  East,  or  pro- 
vide a  loose  undergarment  for  the  Statue  of 
Liberty,  New  York  harbor. 

We  were  doomed  to  disappointment  in  this 
town,  as  one  so  often  is  when  travelling  in 
Korea.  It  seems  that  the  ferryman  overdrank 
himself  that  night  and  let  his  boat  float  away 
from  under  him.  The  next  morning  it  was 
fast  to  a  rock,  half  submerged  in  the  middle  of 
the  river,  and  we  were  informed  that  the  way 


130  Korean  Sketches 

was  closed  against  us  to  the  Ever  White  Moun- 
tain. We  sent  a  note,  with  a  present,  to  the 
magistrate  requesting  him  to  rescue  the  boat 
and  help  us  along.  His  reply  was  that  he 
would  do  so  at  once.  Six  hours  later  when  we 
visited  the  spot  to  see  how  matters  were  pro- 
gressing, we  found  a  noisy  group  on  the  bank 
wrangling  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  a  perfect 
fight  all  round,  the  boat  meanwhile  fast  to  the 
rock  mocking  us  from  the  middle  of  the  river. 
The  result  of  it  all  was  that  they  took  the 
ferryman  to  the  yamen^  fastened  him  down  face 
to  the  ground,  and  gave  him  thirty  blows  with 
a  paddle  large  enough  to  break  a  man's  back. 
This  they  said  was  in  accordance  with  Korean 
law,  and  was  done  out  of  respect  for  us.  Next 
morning  our  party  had  to  wade  the  cold  green 
water  which,  along  with  the  humiliating  sensa- 
tion that  the  magistrate  had  tricked  us  out  of 
the  boat,  and  that  the  poor  ferryman  had  been 
beaten  on  our  account,  was  depressing. 

The  Korean  system  of  bridging  streams  is 
one  of  the  strangest  in  existence.  The  natives 
are  amazed  beyond  expression  at  the  idea  of  a 
bridge  standing  all  the  year  round,  so  up  come 
their  bridges  at  about  the  first  of  June,  only  to 
be  replaced  at  the  close  of  September.  They 
say  it  is  because  of  the  rainy  season,  but  the 
longest  rainy  season  I  have  known  has  not  ex- 
ceeded a  month  and  a  half.     I  rather  think  it 


Across  Korea  131 

is  because  of  the  idea  of  personality  that  they 
associate  with  the  bridge  as  with  so  many  other 
things.  Feeling  that  he  should  have  a  rest 
with  the  summer  season,  they  pile  him  up  by 
the  roadside  and  let  him  bask  and  snooze  in  the 
sun,  in  order  that  he  may  set  his  limbs  the  more 
firmly  for  his  task  of  spanning  the  stream 
through  the  winter. 

These  bridges,  at  best,  are  only  about  four 
feet  wide,  with  a  flooring  of  pine  brush  and 
earth  resting  on  poles  planted  in  spans  of  eight 
feet.  To  ride  over  this  on  the  top  of  a  pack 
pony,  and  to  feel  it  giving  under  your  feet  like 
a  patent  spring  mattress,  creates  a  sensation  of 
expectancy  in  one  not  unlike  that  produced  by 
a  Yokohama  earthquake. 

Usually  the  natives  are  willing,  for  a  few 
cashy  to  carry  one  on  the  back  over  unbridged 
streams,  but  on  this  northern  trip  I  was  specially 
unfortunate.  I  came  upon  a  mountain  torrent, 
not  deep,  but  sufficient  to  cover  the  boot-tops, 
and  just  on  the  bank  met  a  stout,  bare-legged 
coolie,  leading  a  horse.  Said  I,  ''  You'll  help 
me  now,  over  this  bit  of  water,  please  ?  "  He 
looked  at  me  with  unspeakable  contempt  and 
replied,  "  Get  yourself  over."  As  I  had  never 
before  met  such  an  independent  coolie  I  was 
quite  startled.  "But  I'll  pay  you,  my  good 
man  ! "  "  None  of  your  pay  for  me,"  said  he, 
and  proceeded  to  walk  away.     Not  that  I  would 


132  Korean  Sketches 

be  intentionally  impolite  to  a  coolie,  but  the  in- 
spiration of  the  moment  in  some  way  caught 
me,  and  I  was  onto  his  back  tighter  than  the 
Old  Man  of  the  Sea.  He  muttered  to  himself 
threatenings,  then  proceeded  slowly,  stopping 
to  reconsider  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  but 
it  was  hopeless,  so  he  landed  me  safely.  I 
apologized  and  expressed  the  hope  that  we 
might  still  be  friends,  adding  some  extra  pay 
by  way  of  indemnity.  He  however  stood  look- 
ing at  me  in  speechless  amazement — is  stand- 
ing so  yet  for  ought  I  know. 

We  now  struck  a  region  of  absolute  destitu- 
tion. It  is  true  we  saw  beehives  here  and 
there,  but  could  get  no  honey.  There  was 
nothing  but  millet  and  wild  onions — no  rice,  no 
chickens  or  meat  of  any  kind  ;  and  boiled  millet 
is  like  so  much  sawdust  in  hot  water.  Our 
bundles  too,  seemed  to  grow  heavier,  and  we 
could  find  no  additional  means  of  transporta- 
tion, excepting  two  extra  coolies,  whom  we 
hired.  A  young  fox-terrier,  like  ourselves, 
grew  thinner  every  day,  refusing  to  eat  millet. 
The  only  thing  he  would  eat  was  a  sticky  candy 
made  from  sorghum  seeds,  one  variety  of  which 
actually  pulled  his  teeth  out  and  left  his  mouth 
bleeding,  so  that  it  was  with  difficulty  we  got 
him  through  alive. 

Among  the  grains  of  the  far  north  we  found 
Barbadas  millet  (sorghum  vulgare)^  having  red 


Across  Korea  133 

seeds,  also  panicled  millet  with  seeds  of  a  grey 
color.  These  varieties  are  sown  on  damp  low- 
lands in  drills,  and  the  yield  is  claimed  to  be 
two  hundredfold.  The  distribution  of  these 
grains  is  general  throughout  Korea.  I  have 
found  them  about  Fusan,  in  the  south,  as  well 
as  on  the  Chinese  border.  Common  millet, 
having  a  yellow  grain,  is  sown  in  drills  on  dry 
land.  Its  yield  is  also  very  large,  and  most  of 
the  northern  inhabitants  subsist  upon  it.  Buck- 
wheat is  also  grown  in  the  valleys,  and  is  used 
in  the  preparation  of  vermicelli,  the  most  popu- 
lar dish  in  Korea.  Beans,  peas,  barley,  oats, 
wheat  and  maize  are  also  grown  in  small 
quantities.  Oats  and  potatoes  Koreans  particu- 
larly dislike. 

One  evening  after  a  weary  tramp,  we  called 
for  something  to  eat  at  a  small  cabin,  and  the 
old  dame  in  charge,  said  with  a  long  face,  she 
had  nothing  in  the  world  but  oats.  This  was  a 
welcome  sound  to  us  after  millet,  so  we  ordered 
some  boiled.  But  the  Koreans  of  the  party  de- 
clared that  matters  were  getting  worse  and 
worse — for  oats,  they  claim,  will  give  one  all 
the  diseases  in  the  catalogue.  We  each  had 
our  dish  and  turned  in  for  the  night.  Toward 
morning,  So,  my  Korean  friend,  who  slept  next 
me,  was  up  and  down  groaning  as  though  in 
great  distress.  "What's  the  matter?"  I  in- 
quired.    *'  I  have  an  attack  of  *  summer  com- 


134  Korean  Sketches 

plaint,' "  said  he.  The  day  before  we  had 
walked  ten  miles  through  a  fall  of  snow,  and  I 
could  hardly  understand  how  he  could  have  an 
attack  of  *'  summer  complaint."  "  Those  oats," 
said  he,  *'  have  done  it." 

Sleeping  in  a  small  Korean  hut  I  found,  at 
first,  to  be  one  of  my  hardest  trials.  In  a  tight 
room,  eight  by  eight,  by  six,  without  one 
particle  of  ventilation,  the  floor  heated  nearly 
to  the  frying  point,  you  spread  your  blanket. 
The  inexperienced  traveller,  pursued  by  fiery 
dreams,  baked  almost  brown,  gasps  for  breath 
and  wishes  for  the  morning.  But  after  a  year 
or  two  of  practice,  one  gets  to  like  the  hot 
floor,  for  as  the  natives  say,  it  lets  you  out 
after  a  cold  day's  journey. 

The  homes  of  the  gentry  (jjanghan)  are  usu- 
ally very  neat  and  attractive,  the  rooms  well 
papered  and  clean ;  but  the  inns  and  huts  in 
which  we  lodged  on  this  northern  trip  were 
certainly  far  from  comfortable.  There  is  an 
oppressive  odor  common  to  a  Korean  room, 
that  took  me  months  to  analyze.  It  seemed  to 
prevail  in  large  quantities  everywhere.  I  found 
at  last,  that  it  was  composed  of  two  ingredi- 
ents, one  from  the  castor-oil  lamp  that  sputtered 
in  the  corner,  the  other  from  a  row  of  festering 
bean-balls  hanging  from  the  ceiling.  After 
gathering  the  dust  and  cobwebs  of  a  winter, 
these  bean-balls  are  placed  in  water  till  fer- 


Across  Korea  135 

mentation  begins,  then  the  liquor  is  strained 
off  and  boiled  into  so?/. 

Because   of  this    sleeping   room,  life   was  a 
burden,   until   a   friend    of    mine    invented   a 
special  dress  that  serves  as  a  coat -of-ni ail.    It  is 
a  huge  sack,  with  smaller  bags  for  the  arms, 
and  a  draw  string  at  the  neck.     Clad  in  this 
panoply  of  war,  you  turn  on  an  American  in- 
vention, which  we  call  a  gatling  gun,  and  scat- 
ter insect  powder  over  your  face,  neck,  and  pil- 
low.   This  insures  sleep.     But  until  these  mod- 
ern   inventions    were    introduced,    the    nights 
were   passed  with  what  waging  of  war,  what 
slaughter,   what  muttered   imprecations.     But 
there  is  still  another  danger  that  neither  coat- 
of-mail  nor  patent  insufflator  can  protect  from, 
and  that  is  disease.     As  an  illustration  :  on  one 
of  my  last  trips  across  Korea,  after  a  cold  day's 
journey,  I  spread  my  blanket  on  the  floor  of  an 
eight  foot  square  room   that   opened  into  an- 
other of  the  same  size.     When  I  was  comfort- 
ably located  for  the  night,  I  was  disturbed  by 
sounds  of  moaning  from  the  room  into  which 
mine    opened.        It   was   so    darkened    that   I 
could  not  see  clearly,  but  I  made  out  two  chil- 
dren covered  with  a  quilt.     I  asked  the  grand- 
mother in  charge  what  was  wrong  with  them. 
Her  reply  was  '*  His  Excellency  the  spirit  of 
smallpox   is    with   us,"    and   she    hastened    to 
make  her  evening  sacrifice  of  rice  cake.     No 


136  Korean  Sketches 

other  house  being  available,  nothing  remained 
but  to  sleep  the  night  in  company  with  this 
unclean  spirit.  However,  no  harm  came  of  it. 
As  in  so  many  other  cases  in  the  East,  the  Great 
Spirit  of  Safety  seems  to  accompany  one 
through  exposure  and  dangers  that  we  would 
never  dream  of  at  home. 

Yet  I  do  not  think  Korea  objectionable.  To 
me  it  is  the  most  attractive  country  in  the 
world.  The  climate  is  good ;  the  people,  a  dig- 
nified, trustworthy,  kind-hearted  race ;  their 
language  and  ancient  customs  most  interesting. 
Natural  beauty  abounds.  The  hills  and  streams 
are  alive  with  pheasants,  wild  duck,  geese  and 
turkeys.  Herds  of  deer  too,  come  cautiously 
down  into  the  valley  to  feed,  and  above  all,  are 
frequent  announcements  of  the  regal  presence 
of  the  tiger. 

But  to  continue  our  journey.  We  noticed  a 
succession  of  tiger  traps,  such  as  Koreans  build 
from  logs  and  stones,  with  a  door  that  falls  on 
the  entrance  of  the  tiger.  But  tigers  are  too 
cunning  to  enter  a  trap  readily.  We  had  proofs 
of  there  being  many  of  them  in  our  immediate 
neighborhood.  Their  tracks  showed  that  they 
journeyed  by  the  same  road  we  did.  The  first 
instinct  of  these  animals  seems  to  be  to  keep 
out  of  sight  by  day,  so  we  seldom  see  them. 

I  remember  what  I  thought  was  a  huge  grey 
cat  once  being  brought  into  the  room  where  I 


Across  Korea  137 

was  sitting.  Looking  more  closely  I  saw  it  was 
a  young  tiger.  He  turned  over  on  his  back, 
took  my  slipper  in  his  mouth,  kicked  it  up  into 
the  air,  tossed  it  from  him,  and  then  pranced 
about  as  frisky  as  a  kitten.  I  saw  the  same 
animal  a  year  or  so  later,  when  he  had  grown 
to  be  a  fierce  caged  brute  that  not  even  the 
man  in  charge  dare  approach. 

Here  also  we  found  the  land  fairly  well  tim- 
bered with  pines  and  hardwood  trees,  two  and 
three  feet  in  diameter,  rarely  seen  elsewhere  in 
Korea.  Doubtless  the  time  will  come  when 
this  timber  will  be  floated  down  the  Yalu  to 
some  place  where  it  can  be  put  to  good  use. 

We  passed  only  one  town  of  any  size,  a  place 
called  Huchang,  and  there  we  found  our  road 
again  blocked  to  the  Ever  White  Mountain. 
We  were  almost  within  sight  of  his  grey  top, 
but  melting  snows  and  spring  floods  made  it 
impassable.  We  had  hoped  to  reach  the  water- 
shed of  the  Yalu  and  Tumen,  but  the  road 
through  the  mountains  was  completely  shut 
against  us.  So,  full  of  disappointment,  we  were 
obliged  to  turn  south. 

The  simple-hearted  people  in  this  town  of 
Huchang  knew  nothing  whatever  of  the  world. 
The  magistrate  came  to  call,  bringing  a  live 
chicken  or  two  by  wa}^  of  a  propitiatory  offering. 
It  was  then  about  noon,  and  he  asked  what  time 
of  day  it  might  be  in  our  honorable  country. 


138  Korean  Sketches 

"  Nighttime,"  we  replied.  He  gave  a  startled 
look.  *'  What  direction  is  your  country  from 
here  ?  "  and  we  pointed  him  toward  the  centre 
of  the  earth.  He  caught  hold  of  something  to 
steady  himself  from  the  shock  this  gave  him, 
and  inquired  if  we  lived  underground.  When 
we  told  him  that  the  world  was  round  and  that 
we  lived  on  the  other  side,  we  transcended  the 
pale  of  his  interest ;  so  he  changed  the  subject, 
and  bade  us  go  in  peace  as  soon  as  possible. 

Here  were  mountain  streams  and  fairly  good 
fishing.  True,  successful  fishing  is  an  art  little 
understood  by  Koreans.  They  catch  salmon 
and  mullet  during  spawning  season,  and  take 
fish,  seasonable  and  unseasonable,  whenever 
they  can  catch  them.  When  we  reached  the 
east  coast,  we  found  nets  hung  on  poles  with 
long  barriers  that  serve  as  drives  stretching 
out  to  them,  cabled  fast  to  the  shore  by  strands 
of  peuraria  creeper.  These  nets  hang  for  some 
five  months  of  the  year.  They  are  intended 
specially  for  herring,  but  they  take  also  cod, 
tai,  skate,  flounder,  sole,  turbot,  thornback  and 
poisonous  globe-fish.  But  it  is  an  indolent 
kind  of  fishing  that  yields  little  profit.  The 
only  success  the  fishermen  have  is  up  north,  be- 
yond the  forty-first  parallel  of  latitude,  in 
catching  pollack.  This  fish,  not  unlike  a  small 
cod,  is   taken   in   great   quantities,  dried,  and 


Across  Korea 


139 


shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  supplying  a 
cheap  and  wholesome  article  of  food. 

We  left  Huchang  and  started  south.  Grad- 
ually the  country  grew  less  and  less  wooded, 
until  nothing  but  scrubby  pines  were  to  be 
seen.  The  third  day  out,  we  came  upon  a 
mining  town  with  smelting  furnaces.  Here 
they  were  separating  copper  from  the  ore,  and 
shipping  it  by  pack  ponies  to  P'yong-yang,  to 
be  minted  into  cash.  The  mining  industry  in 
Korea  is  in  the  crudest  state  imaginable.  They 
dig  gold  only  from  the  alluvium,  making  no  at- 
tempt to  disturb  the  mountains,  because  they 
are  all  sacred.  On  the  fourth  day  we  came 
upon  gold  diggings.  My  companion  and  I 
asked  a  weather-beaten  miner  to  wash  us  out  a 
sample.  Squatting  down  on  the  edge  of  the 
stream,  he  filled  his  wooden  basin  with  water, 
rocked  it  back  and  forth  until  at  last  he  had 
washed  all  the  mud  over  the  edge,  and  there  lay 
three  or  four  specks  of  gold  barely  visible  to 
the  naked  eye. 

It  had  taken  two  ponies  to  carry  our  traps  at 
the  start;  when  these  failed  us,  four  coolies 
could  just  manage ;  now  we  reached  a  point 
where  neither  ponies  nor  coolies  were  to,  be 
had.  We  induced  a  farmer  to  let  us  have  his 
two  cows  for  a  consideration,  but  the  packs 
proved  too  heavy,  so  he  gave  the  job  up.  As 
there  were  not  three  cows  to  be  had,  we  were  left 


140  Korean  Sketches 

hopeless,  in  a  wretched  inn,  full  of  all  unclean- 
ness.  I  remember  well  my  sojourn  at  that  inn, 
as  I  had  both  cheer  and  discouragement  liber- 
ally dealt  out  to  me.  The  old  grandmother 
asked  if  I  had  any  good  books  with  me.  "  Why 
no,"  I  said,  "  we  have  given  them  away  long 
ago ;  but  where  did  you  ever  hear  of  a  good 
book?"  "Oh!"  she  cried,  "I  know  of  the 
Western  Book,  and  I  know  westerners  are 
good  people,  and  that  they  have  not  come  to 
harm  us."  This  was  encouragement,  like  rain 
on  thirsty  ground,  after  being  pointed  out  for 
weeks  as  foreign  devils,  etc.  The  good  old 
dame  quite  won  my  heart.  Of  the  old  man 
however  I  was  less  sure.  Feeling  at  home,  I 
cast  about  for  some  amusement,  and  happily 
came  upon  a  fishing  rod  and  line.  Why  should 
I,  a  member  of  the  family,  ask  permission  to  go 
fishing?  So  I  took  the  rod,  and  was  soon  com- 
fortably seated  on  a  rock  enjoying  that  delight- 
ful sport  which,  Dr.  Johnson  says,  requires  only 
a  fly  on  one  end  and  a  fool  on  the  other.  Sud- 
denly I  felt  a  shock,  not  from  a  bite,  but  from 
a  call  behind  me  to  bring  home  that  fishing 
rod.  I  pretended  not  to  hear ;  the  storm  would 
blow  over  in  a  little.  Ah !  yes,  there  was  a 
most  interesting  bite  now;  but  a  whirlwind 
suddenly  caught  me,  in  which  I  lost  line,  fish, 
interest  and  everything.  When  I  came  to,  an 
old  Korean,  seventy  years  of  age,  was  carefull}^ 


Across  Korea  141 

putting  a  fishing  rod  back  in  its  place,  while  an 
American  was  pretending  to  dig  wild  onions  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  the  village  people  mean- 
while looking  on  encouragingly. 

But  to  return  to  my  story.  I  said  it  was  the 
baggage  that  kept  us.  We  had  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  still  to  go  to  the  city  of  Ham- 
heung,  which  is  on  the  east  coast  of  Korea.  How 
should  we  ever  make  the  distance  ?  In  answer 
there  came  by  a  mild  looking  native  with  a  raw- 
boned  cow  bound  for  Ham-heung.  Pak,  a  Ko- 
rean of  our  party,  asked  this  passer  if  he  could 
devise  some  way  of  getting  our  boxes  and 
blankets  out  of  this  wretched  country.  The 
native  turned  them  over,  and  after  due  con- 
sideration, said  he  and  his  cow  would  take  them 
all.  *'Bat,"  we  protested,  '*two  cows  failed 
already ;  how  can  one,  and  a  thin  cow  at  that, 
possibly  manage?"  "My  cow,"  said  he,  "can 
out-carry  any  two  bullocks  that  travel  these 
mountains."  Morning  came,  and  they  piled 
up  Crumple  Horn,  until  she  looked  like  some 
prehistoric  monster  on  cow's  legs.  Steady  as  a 
ship,  she  got  under  way  and  plodded  on  to  the 
amazement  of  us  all,  making  thirty  miles  a  day. 
Only  on  the  last  stage,  when  there  were  no 
beans  to  be  had,  did  her  faithful  knees  tremble, 
and  we  all  felt  deeply  moved  by  the  toil-worn 
expression  in  her  brown  face.  A  day  or  so 
after  we  reached  home  I  called  at  the  stable  to 


142  Korean  Sketches 

see  how  she  was,  and  found  her  peacefully  din- 
ing off  corn-stalks,  with  beans  for  dessert, 
scenting  the  evening  air  with  her  breath,  as 
though  her  life  had  always  been  spent  amid 
luxury  and  eternal  pastures. 

The  night  before  reaching  Ham-heung  we 
passed  in  a  miserable  village  near  the  summit 
of  the  mountains.  They  could  get  us  nothing 
for  breakfast  but  boiled  potatoes  and  salt — 
rather  a  slim  preparation  for  a  thirty  mile  walk. 
It  was  the  first  of  May  and  snow  still  covered 
the  mountains.  About  ten  in  the  morning  we 
reached  the  summit,  an  elevation  of  some  two 
thousand  feet.  Away  to  the  east  was  the  Sea 
of  Japan,  with  a  green  summer  valley  lying  be- 
tween. The  next  hour's  descent  carried  us  from 
winter  into  a  season  of  leaves  and  flowers.  In 
Ham-heung  there  was  abundance  to  eat;  and 
how  our  party  enjoyed  beef  and  white  rice  once 
more,  after  weeks  of  starvation,  I  leave  you  to 
judge.- 

Thus  prosaically  ended  our  journey.  We 
saw  no  remains  of  cities,  no  traces  of  fairy 
kings ;  met  no  special  heroes,  but  the  old  man 
with  the  fish-pole.  He  belonged  to  the  Puynite 
race,  no  doubt,  or  perhaps  was  some  distant 
grandson  of  Keui-ja ;  but  apart  from  him,  all  was 
a  wilderness  of  bleak  hills,  low  huts,  tiger 
traps  and  millet. 


VII 

THE  KOREAN  BOY 

The  boy  may  be  anything  from  fifteen  to 
fifty-five  years  of  age.  He  may  be  married  or 
unmarried.  He  may  even  be  male  or  female. 
He  is  the  personal  attendant  of  the  Westerner 
and  is  par  excellence  the  boy,  or  as  they  say  in 
France,  the  garcon.  He  is  the  ever-present 
shadow,  as  visible  in  cloudy  weather  as  in  sun- 
shine. He  occupies  the  central  place  in  the  ex- 
istence and  history  of  all  Western  life  in  the 
Far  East.  As  well  expect  a  state  to  stand 
without  a  capital  or  a  temple  to  flourish  with- 
out a  god  as  to  find  a  foreigner  and  no  boy. 
The  boy  is  in  fact  the  moving  principle  of  his 
life.  Nothing  is  done  without  sanction  of  the 
boy,  and  nothing  that  the  boy  vetoes  can  ever 
come  to  pass.  The  fact  that  the  foreigner  is 
helpless  in  his  hand,  inclines  him  to  worship  the 
boy  as  a  little  god,  for  nothing  so  calls  forth 
adoration  as  tyranny  wisely  exercised. 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact  in  Asia,  that  every 

Westerner  has,  in  his  immediate  service,  the 

best  boy  that  has  ever  been  seen.     He  does  not 

stop  to  consider  his  own  capabilities  of  choice, 

143 


144  Korean  Sketches 

or  his  length  of  experience:  his  boy  is  perfect, 
and  every  other  boy  in  the  neighborhood  is  a 
disgrace  to  his  employer.  He  knows  not  why 
they,  who  pretend  to  be  missionaries,  should 
keep  such  on  their  premises.  He  is  thankful 
that  he  is  not  as  other  men  are.  His  boy  may 
rise  with  unwashed,  greasy  face,  may  mix  bread 
with  one  hand  and  arrange  his  oily  locks  with 
the  other,  may  accomplish  a  long  list  of  imper- 
fections, and  yet  the  master  will  dilate  on  his 
excellence  as  boy.  He  is  the  god  of  the  back 
kitchen,  whose  benign  presence  means  life  to 
the  paleface  in  the  inner  room.  He  u^sually  has 
anotlier  dirty  little  god  or  two  to  wait  on  him. 
These  the  American  or  European  detests  as  a 
spirit  worshipper  detests  tokgabi  (gohVms^.  He 
tells  the  boy  so  and  orders  their  dismissal.  The 
boy  says  Nei-i-i  (very  well),  and  keeps  his  little 
gods. 

Like  every  other  attending  spirit,  if  you  give 
the  boy  offense  he  leaves  at  once,  and  the  crack 
of  doom  settles  down  over  the  unhappy  head 
of  his  victim.  Usually  the  boy  comes  back  on 
increased  pay  and  with  less  mercy  than  ever  in 
Tiis  soul,  and  life  moves  on.  We  laugh  at  the 
Oriental's  faithfulness  to  his  cruel  gods.  He 
will  fight  for  them  even  wlien  their  presence 
means  death.  Likewise,  I  have  known  Ameri- 
cans to  threaten  each  other  because  one  had 
spoken  disparagingly  of  the  frowzy-headed  boy 


The  Korean  Boy  14^- 

in  the  backyard,  who  was  mixing  germs  and 
bacteria  into  dishes  for  the  paleface  to  eat. 

Like  other  inhabitants  of  the  Orient,  the  boy 
understands  the  whole  before  you  have  taught 
him  half,  and  always  adds  a  touch  of  his  own 
to  give  the  needed  completeness. 

The  Western  wife  is  the  one  who  reads  deep- 
est into  the  mysteries  of  the  boy.  He  reveals 
himself  to  her  because  her  demands,  being 
greater  than  those  of  the  bachelor,  give  scope 
and  variety  for  his  attainments.  My  wife  was 
once  involved  in  the  preparation  of  a  dinner  to 
be  given  to  the  distinguished  Western  popula- 
tion of  the  city  of  Seoul,  in  the  days  when  the 
whole  company  numbered  less  than  the  Knights 
of  the  Round  Table.  All  the  courses  were 
safely  under  way  and  the  kitchen  was  spread 
with  the  choicest  dishes  that  those  early  days 
permitted.  Canned  vegetables,  too,  not  so  com- 
mon there  as  in  America,  were  called  into  requi- 
sition. "  Open  this  can  carefully,  boy,"  said 
my  wife,  ''and  then  heat  the  peas  on  the 
stove."  "  Heat  the  peas  and  then  open  the 
can,"  says  the  boy  to  himself,  by  way  of  touch- 
ing off  the  order.  My  wife  withdrew  to  the 
dining-room  in  the  satisfaction  of  being  at  last 
ready  for  the  guests.  An  Oriental  bungalow 
is  pretty  ;  the  brown  woodwork  and  rafters,  with 
light  paper  between,  afford  a  pleasing  combina- 
tion  when   set  with   flowers   and   napkins  and 


146  Korean  Sketches 

lighted  tapers.  Bang!  went  the  kitchen,  as 
though  struck  by  a  torpedo.  There  was  a 
skirmish,  and  lo !  dense  darkness  enshrouded 
the  whole  cooking  paraphernalia.  When  the 
steam  and  particles  of  exploded  peas  had  suffi- 
ciently settled  to  admit  of  entrance,  the  top- 
knot of  the  boy  was  discovered  issuing  from 
behind  the  stove,  while  these  words  were  heard, 
"  Choson  boy  no  savez." 

There  were  canned  peas  in  every  course  that 
evening,  to  the  confusion  of  my  poor  wife,  but 
the  story  of  their  presence  was  accepted  by  the 
guests  as  more  than  compensation. 

The  boy  was  burned  by  the  exploding  can, 
and  to  this  day  cannot  understand  why  it  blew 
up,  unless  the  devils  were  in  it. 

So  the  boy  takes  matters  into  his  own  hands. 
"I  know,"  is  his  favorite  motto  {amnaita).  He 
walks  by  faith  in  himself,  and  not  by  the  sight 
of  any  mortal  demonstration.  He  has  un- 
bounded confidence  in  his  power  to  pilot  a  way 
through  culinary  complications.  My  wife  had 
a  kettle  of  catsup  almost  at  a  finish,  the  boy 
was  plucking  a  chicken  in  readiness  for  dinner. 
*'What  is  the  red  sauce  for,  madam  ?"  asked 
the  boy.  "  To  be  used  with  meat,"  said  my 
wife  ;  "  for  example,  chicken."  "  Oh,"  said  the 
boy,  '"'•  amnaita^'  (I  know).  My  wife  returned 
to  the  kitchen  a  half  hour  later,  and  there  was 
the  chicken,  submerged  in   the  pot  of  catsup, 


The  Korean  Boy  147 

boiling  languidly,  while  the  boy  sat  and  expa- 
tiated to  his  dirty-faced  satellites  on  the  art  of 
Western  cooking. 

The  boy  is  full  of  resource ;  a  situation  that  will 
baffle  him  entirely  is  hard  to  imagine.  He  will 
improvise  a  rope  out  of  a  few  straws  from  the  rice 
field,  or  build  a  comfortable  saddle  for  you  in 
the  howling  wilderness.  His  world  is  made  up 
of  the  simplicities  that  belonged  to  the  age  of 
Adam ;  yet  he  can  also  take  advantage  of  mod- 
ern conveniences  and  methods,  if  need  be. 

The  commissioner  of  customs  paid  us  an 
afternoon  call  and  we  prevailed  on  him  to  re- 
main for  dinner.  When  my  wife  informed  the 
boy  that  we  would  have  him  for  our  guest,  he 
said,  "  We  have  nothing  in  the  world  for  the 
great  man;  not  bread  enough,  and  no  roast; 
we  shall  all  die."  My  wife  told  him  she  would 
take  no  bread,  and  that  canned  meat  would 
suffice  for  "potluck";  and  as  the  commissioner 
was  a  considerate  gentleman,  there  really  was 
no  occasion  for  any  one  to  expire.  "We  shall 
all  die,"  said  he,  "and  go  to  perdition  " — mean- 
ing that  the  honor  of  our  house  would  fall. 
Dinner  was  served,  the  boy  came  sweeping  in 
with  the  soup  as  though  there  were  an  abun- 
dant supply.  Later  we  were  awaiting  the  mod- 
est remnants  of  bread  and  canned  meat,  when 
the  door  swung  on  its  hinges,  and  the  boy, 
with  an  expression  of  oily  radiance  peculiar  to 


148  Korean  Sketches 

the  East,  burst  into  the  room  with  a  roast  of 
beef  fit  for  Confucius.  There  was  also  bread 
enough  and  to  spare.  My  wife  sat  asphyxiated. 
What  could  she  do  but  accept  a  choice  piece 
for  herself,  and  express  the  hope  that  the  com- 
missioner would  be  helped  a  second  time ! 

It  was  an  eminent  success  as  a  dinner,  but 
the  question  of  where  a  roast  was  procured  in 
a  city  destitute  of  Christian  beef,  and  bread, 
where  there  are  no  bakers,  was  bearing  hard 
upon  her;  yet  it  was  not  curiosity,  but  fear, 
that  filled  her  soul.  When  we  withdrew  for 
coffee  she  asked  in  breathless  suspense,  "Kam- 
yongi,  where  did  you  get  the  roast  and  the 
bread?"  "Just  sent  to  the  commissioner's  and 
said,  *  The  great  man  (tain)  will  dine  here,  bring 
along  anything  you  have  cooked.' "  With  a 
look  of  mortification  that  was  pitiful,  my  wife 
confessed  then  and  there  to  the  commissioner. 
He  was  an  old  hand  in  the  East  and  the  light 
of  past  days  twinkled  in  his  eye  as  he  enjoyed  to 
the  full  the  joke  of  that  most  excellent  dinner. 

The  boy  is  the  guardian  spirit  of  the  pale- 
face, notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  keeps 
him  in  torment.  He  will  stand  for  his  honor 
though  he  disturb  a  whole  district  in  doing  so. 
He  has  always  been  a  source  of  fear  to  me  lest 
he  fall  out  with  others  on  my  account.  He  is 
a  master-hand  at  discovering  conditions  un- 
complimentary to  those  around  him.     **Boss,*' 


The  Korean  Boy  149 

he  would  say  to  the  innkeeper,  "this  is  the 
thirteenth  centipede  I  have  killed  on  your 
veranda."  "Indeed,  where  could  they  have 
come  from?"  says  the  innkeeper.  "Have  you 
bugs,  too?"  "None  since  I  posted  up  those 
characters."  "What  is  the  name  of  this  col- 
lection of  pigpens  anyhow?"  asks  the  boy. 
"  The  name  of  our  humble  village  is  Kdmal " 
(Dogtown),  says  the  host.  "  I  thought  so,"  says 
the  boy.  This  is  a  sample  of  the  conversation, 
all  of  which  was  intended  by  way  of  doing  me 
honor,  proving  how  superior  I  was  to  my  sur- 
roundings. 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  average  boy  is 
trustworthy.  He  takes  his  "  squeeze,"  which 
is  as  legitimate  an  operation  in  the  Far  East  as 
the  drawing  of  a  salary  at  home.  He  expects 
to  share  in  every  variety  of  good  fortune  that 
befalls  his  master,  without  any  thought  of  being 
dishonest;  but  there  are  of  course  questionable 
boys,  as  there  are  questionable  people  in  every 
walk  of  life,  and  the  following  cases  are  cited 
to  show  the  methods  they  adopt  in  deceiving 
their  employer.  The  most  afflicted  person  in 
this  respect  I  have  ever  known  was  a  Scotch- 
man, who  came  East  on  a  matter  of  business. 
He  hired  a  boy  to  do  his  work,  cook  and  care 
for  him.  This  boy  was  to  come  every  night, 
render  an  account  of  the  day's  expenses,  and  re- 
ceive  orders  for  the  day  following.     Nothing 


150  Korean  Sketches 

palls  on  an  impatient  foreigner  more  than  these 
visits  of  the  boy  with  his  book  of  Chinese  char- 
acters; so  the  Scotchman  would  say,  *'  Oh  never 
mind,  I'm  tired  to-night,  come  to-morrow." 
Several  days  would  pass  by,  and  then  would 
come  an  evening  of  dire  tussle  and  argument 
in  a  vain  effort  to  straighten  out  accounts. 
"  But,"  says  the  Scotchman,  "  I  never  ate  forty 
eggs  a  day."  "  Oh  yes !  makee  blead  pud- 
din',  must  have  plenty  egg^^'  says  the  boy. 
The  Scotchman  was  silenced,  though  not  con- 
vinced. This  matter  of  accounts  grew  more 
and  more  aggravated.  There  was  heaped  up 
against  him  a  tremendous  list  of  provisions — 
quantities  of  beef,  mutton  chop,  ham,  fruit,  flour 
and  eggs.  Small  portions  of  these  to  be  sure 
he  had  eaten,  but  the  meagre  remnants  that 
appeared  for  breakfast,  tiffin,  and  dinner,  were 
entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the  extravagant 
list  of  the  evening.  Resolved  to  investigate, 
the  Scotchman  dropped  in  about  eleven 
from  the  office,  to  see  what  the  supply  looked 
like  uncooked.  He  called  the  boy  and 
asked  what  he  had  bought.  "My  buy  good 
loast,  one  chicken,  plenty  thing."  "  Bring 
them  in  to  me,"  said  he.  The  boy  dis- 
appeared, the  Scotchman  waited  long  and 
patiently.  "  Boy !  "  shouted  he,  but  no  an- 
swer. Determined  to  make  an  end  once  for 
all,  he  went  into  the  kitchen  and  out  to    the 


The  Korean  Boy  151 

back  yard,  and  there  was  the  boy  plucking  one 
of  his  favorite  chickens,  which  he  had  killed  in 
a  desperate  effort  to  make  the  supply  tally 
with  his  account.  He  had  meanwhile  bor- 
rowed a  piece  of  meat  from  a  neighbor,  and 
piled  a  few  scraps  on  a  plate,  to  which  he  called 
attention.  The  angry  Scot  caught  the  plate, 
and  let  fly,  scraps,  roast  and  all,  straight  at  the 
boy's  head.  The  concussion  sent  him  spinning 
through  the  back  gate,  where  he  disappeared 
into  a  kind  of  nirvana,  carrying  the  Scotch- 
man's anathemas  with  him. 

A  second  boy  had  been  taught  the  necessary 
elements  of  his  **  pidgin,"  and  the  house  was 
just  beginning  to  get  under  way,  when  he  an- 
nounced the  fact  that  he  would  have  to  go,  as 
his  mother  was  dead ;  but  there  was  a  boy  that 
would  take  his  place,  *' Number  one,  very 
good  boy."  *'  Never  you  mind,"  said  the  West- 
erner, "if  you  are  determined  to  go  I'll  hire 
my  own  boy."  "But  I  catchee  more  better, 
number  one."  Number  one,  he  said,  was  the  son 
of  his  father's  half  sister's  cousin.  "I  don't 
care  if  he  is  the  son  of  your  great-grandmother, 
I'll  have  nothing  to  do  with  him,"  said  the 
Scotchman.  The  boy  went,  but  returned 
again ;  stood  first  on  one  foot  and  then  on  the 
other,  hummed  and  hawed,  and  at  last  said, 
*'  There  is  a  reason—"  "  Deed  and  I  know  it 
right  well,"  said  the  Scot.     "  He  give  twenty 


152  Korean  Sketches 

dollar,  catchee  my  place,  now  money  all  gone, 
no  can  pay  back."  The  Scotchman's  self-con- 
trol had  been  worn  down  till  his  temper  was 
poking  through  in  holes.  He  could  endure  it 
no  longer.  With  a  mad  rush  he  bundled  the 
domestic  through  the  rear  gateway,  adding 
something  about  him  and  all  his  heathen  rela- 
tions ;  and  so  he  was  again  free  to  begin  do- 
mestic life  anew. 

The  boy  of  his  own  choice  was  now  estab- 
lished in  the  kitchen  and  for  a  few  days  life 
flowed  smoothly  along.  It  was  a  new  era  in  his 
existence.  One  morning  in  the  most  reasonable 
way  imaginable  the  boy  mentioned  that  he  had 
some  words  he  desired  to  say.  *'  Say  on  then 
and  be  quick,"  said  the  impatient  Aberdonian. 
"Master,  makee  buy  one  piece  cow,  catchee 
number  one  cleam."  "Number  one  what?" 
"  Cleam,  good  coffee."  The  boy  at  last  pre- 
vailed, and  the  cow  was  bought.  Then  the  boy 
was  married,  and  took  a  native  hut  close  by.  He 
added  an  extra  cow,  from  no  one  knew  where, 
and  pastured  it  in  the  master's  flower  garden. 
"  Whose  cow  is  this  ?  "  "  That  belong  me,"  said 
the  boy.  "  Take  it  out  of  my  garden  then," 
said  the  master.  It  soon  developed  that  the 
boy  was  selling  milk  to  the  neighborhood — and 
the  Scotchman  on  the  whole  commended  him 
for  his  thrift.  But  the  master's  cream  grew 
thinner  every  day,  until  nothing  was  forthcom- 


The  Korean  Boy  153 

ing but  blue  malarial  fluid.    "Boy,  I  want  cream, 
not  skim-milk,"  said  he.     "  All  right,  can  do." 
Next  morning  there  was  an  improvement,  but 
just  as  he  was  enjoying  his  own  cup  of  coffee 
there  came  a  note  from  the  eonsurs  wife  say- 
ing,   '^My  dear  Mr.  Shand:— I  fear  your  boy 
is    putting    water  into  the  milk  he  brings  us. 
Will  you  kindly  see  that  this  little  matter  is 
rectified."     Confusion  and  sorrow  were  settling 
over  the  devoted  head  of  the  Scotchman.     The 
herd  of  cows  had  now  grown  to  six,  pastured 
largely  off  his  own  ground,  his  only  compensation 
being  a  few  spoonfuls  of  cream  for  his  coffee  ;  but 
yet  it  showed  the  thrift  of  the  boy,  and  thrift  is 
something  a  Scotchman  always  worships.    Next 
morning  there  was  coffee  and  sugar  in  abun- 
dance, but  no   cream  at  all.     "  Boy  !  where  is 
the  cream?"     "Master,  very    solly,  to-day  no 
have  got  cleam."     "No  have  got  cream  and  all 
these  cows?"     The  boy  explained  that  it  had 
taken  all  he  had  to  go  round  the  neighborhood. 
♦'  Confound  it !  "  said  the  master,  "  I  keep  all 
these  cows  and  get  no  cream  ?  "    Then  the  boy 
began  to  weep  and  said  if  he  watered  it,  all  the 
people  said  "  no  can    do  ;  "  if  he  failed  to  give 
enough,  they  grumbled.    Here  he  was,  doing  his 
duty,  and  every  one  was  down  on  him,  even  his 
master.     He  would  die.     "  But,"  said  the  Scot, 
"you  idiot!  What  do  you  mean?  "  The  boy  said 
he  wished  he  were  dead.     A  day  or  two  later 


1^4  Korean  Sketches 

complaints  began  coming  in  from  people  who 
had  received  no  milk  that  morning — would 
Mr.  Shand  please  see  to  it?  The  boy  was  called. 
"What  about  this  wretched  milk  to-day?" 
"  My  no  savez ;  my  tell  my  wife  look,  see. " 
*'  I  have  about  made  up  my  mind,"  said  the  ex- 
asperated Caledonian,  "  to  be  rid  of  both  you 
and  your  cows."  Next  morning  there  was  no 
milk  for  any  one,  and  no  breakfast  for  the 
Scotchman.  His  kitchen  was  as  silent  as  the 
grave  and  as  cold  as  Lapland,  Where  was  the 
boy  ?  Again  there  were  letters  from  women  on 
the  verge  of  nervous  prostration — "  Sir  :  Do  you 
intend  to  rob  us  of  our  supply  of  milk  ?  We  con- 
sider it  very  ungracious  of  you  indeed."  The 
Scotchman  was  a  bachelor,  and  his  blood  was 
up.  To  think  that  this  heathen  should  be  the 
means  of  setting  bis  lady  friends  against  him 
was  more  than  he  could  endure.  He  would 
horsewhip  the  brute,  and  hamstring  his  cows. 
When  he  reached  the  hut,  he  found  the  wife 
laid  up  from  a  beating  she  had  received  the 
night  before  for  neglecting  to  milk;  the  boy 
had  been  arrested  and  was  in  jail  for  maltreat- 
ing her ;  and  the  Scotchman  was  alone  in  the 
cold  world,  the  fires  of  a  purgatory  burning  hot 
within  him. 

The  boy  is  really  the  executive  officer  of  the 
state.  He  will  solve  a  problem  in  bargaining 
or  diplomacy  that  would  baffle  a  native  gentle- 


The  Korean  Boy  155' 

man  indefinitely.  Never  give  the  latter  a  task  in 
either  of  these  departments  unless  you  desire  it 
to  be  reduced  to  absolute  confusion;  but  set 
the  boy  on  the  trail,  yield  him  your  confidence, 
and  his  devotion  and  executive  skill  will  more 
than  repay  you.  I  have  never  yet  heard  of  a 
boy's  betrayal  of  a  trust  that  was  so  imposed. 
His  unwearied  feet  will  cover  long  miles  of  dis- 
tance in  your  behalf;  his  tongue  will  tell  the 
wondering  listeners  your  praises — how  great 
you  are,  how  wise,  how  generous,  how  rich,  how 
glorious  a  master  to  serve.  We  have  heard  him 
speak  so  of  others  and  sometimes  of  ourselves. 
Bless  the  boy !  He  will  fight  a  whole  town  that 
calls  you  "barbarian" — as  my  own  Yongchuni 
did  once  when  we  entered  a  miserable  raft  of  a 
place  after  nightfall.  The  people  through  the 
mouthpiece  of  a  lanky  mountaineer,  said  they 
had  no  stable  room  for  savages.  Quick  as  light- 
ning Yongchuni  smacked  him  on  the  left  cheek 
for  his  insolence.  It  was  the  touch  of  a  button 
that  piled  all  the  loose  population  onto  the  prey 
like  so  many  woolly  dogs.  Poor  Yongchuni  he 
was  the  prey,  buried  out  of  sight,  overwhelmed 
by  violence,  and  all  on  my  account.  I  was 
compelled  to  turn  in  and  help  him.  How  we 
survived,  is  still  a  mystery.  As  we  moved 
ignominiously  out  of  the  place,  I  lectured  him 
on  keeping  his  temper.  "  But  master  they  in- 
sulted you,  how  could  I?"     "But  we  must  not 


156  Korean  Sketches 

fight."  This  reproof  brought  the  tears,  where 
the  violence  of  the  mob  had  but  whetted  him 
into  anger.  I  told  him  I  prized  his  faithfulness, 
pummelled  as  he  had  been.  After  thinking  it 
over  carefully  and  weighing  the  motives,  I  drew 
from  it  a  profitable  lesson  for  myself,  and  con- 
cluded that  I  would  rather  have  fought  like 
that  on  behalf  of  another,  than  have  kept  my 
temper  for  years. 

I  am  given  to  understand  by  Orientals,  that 
over-familiarity  with  any  spirit  brings  disaster. 
This  spirit  may  be  necessary  to  material  pros- 
perity during  the  earthly  pilgrimage,  but  it 
should  never  be  made  a  companion  of  or  spoken 
to  in  a  loose  or  frivolous  way.  Keep  it  in  its 
place,  at  a  distance,  and  your  house  will  flour- 
ish, your  name  will  be  great  in  the  land.  Never 
propitiate  it  in  advance,  bat  only  on  the  ap- 
pointed day,  and  then  strictly  in  accordance 
with  form.  All  of  which  rules  apply  in  the 
case  of  the  boy,  and  prove  that  if  he  be  not  a 
spirit  or  in  league  with  spirits,  he  is  in  his  being 
and  characteristics  like  unto  them,  and  so  has 
power  to  bring  joy  and  satisfaction,  or  to  blast 
life  and  keep  his  victim  in  perpetual  hot  water. 


VIII 

KOREAN  NEW  YEAR 

In  their  division  of  the  year,  Koreans,  like 
the  Chinese,  prefer  to  follow  the  moon  rather 
than  the  sun.  Their  confusion  of  the  two  re- 
minds one  of  the  Scotchmen,  who  when  on 
their  way  home  from  market  fell  out  and  fought 
about  the  orb  shining  above  them,  one  claiming 
that  it  was  the  sun,  and  the  other  that  it  waa 
the  moon.  Neither  being  sufficiently  steady  of 
foot  to  settle  it  by  actual  war,  they  decided  to 
leave  the  matter  to  arbitration,  and  asked  a  third 
party  who  was  passing  what  he  thought  about 
it.  After  considerable  time  spent  in  balancing 
himself,  he  managed  this  reply,  "  I'm  a  stranger 
in  these  pairts,  no  vera  weel  acquaint,  but  it 
seems  to  me  there's  twa  there,  but  whether  sun 
or  moon  I  canna  tell." 

I  know  of  nothing  that  illustrates  the  Korean 
confusion  of  time  and  tide  better  than  this 
story.  His  eye  has  been  long  rendered  un- 
steady by  superstition  ;  and  he  stumbles  along 
in  his  dim  twilight  thinking  to  himself  that  he 
is  in  full  blaze  of  the  sun. 

At  the  close  of  the  New  Year  season,  that  is 
on  the  night  of  the  fifteenth  of  the  first  month, 
the    Korean    spreads    his   mat   on   the  nearest 

157 


158  Korean  Sketches 

bridge  and  bows  three  times  to  the  moon,  ask- 
ing him  for  his  light  and  guidance  through  the 
coming  year.  Each  phase  has  been  carefully 
watched  for  centuries,  the  quality  and  charac- 
teristics noted  down,  so  that  every  fortune-teller 
in  the  land  is  full  of  the  moon — of  his  good 
points,  his  dangers,  his  peculiar  whims,  just  as 
a  Briton  understands  his  horse.  When  the 
Japanese  were  marching  upon  P'yong-yang,  I 
remember  the  Koreans  saying  that  it  was  per- 
fectly safe  for  China  yet,  as  it  was  not  a  fight- 
ing moon. 

And  yet  the  ungrateful  moon  returns  only 
evil  for  good.  Every  three  years  a  moon  is  in- 
tercalated to  fill  up  the  deficiency  in  the  lunar 
year.  Once  I  remember  this  falling  just  at  seed 
sowing,  but  not  a  Korean  moved  hand  to  sow 
his  seed.  When  reminded  that  time  was  pass- 
ing he  simply  said,  *'The  intercalary  moon  is 
not  reckoned  in  the  season,  we  shall  wait  till  it 
is  over  and  then  begin."  The  result  was  they 
sowed  their  seed  a  month  late,  and  there  was  a 
famine  in  the  land. 

The  noted  moon  of  the  year  is  the  crescent 
that  shines  on  the  first  night  of  the  first  month. 
Every  native  in  the  land  feels  that  with  it  old 
things  have  passed  away  and  that  all  things 
have  become  new.  He  pays  his  debts,  puts  on 
a  new  suit  of  clothes,  bows  his  congratulations 
to   the   old   men    of  the   village,  and  has   the 


Korean  New  Year  159 

younger  men  bow  to  him ;  and  yet  after  it  all, 
there  is  a  lack  and  an  aching  void.  He  acts 
not  unlike  Job  did,  when  he  said,  '*  Though  I 
wash  me  with  snow  water  and  make  my  hands 
never  so  clean,  yet  wilt  thou  plunge  me  in  the 
ditch  and  mine  own  clothes  shall  abhor  me." 
Something  dogs  his  footsteps  of  which  he  tries 
very  hard  to  be  rid ;  he  calls  in  sorcerers,  and 
fortune  men,  and  during  prolonged  seances 
seeks  their  advice.  A  cook  whom  we  left  in 
Korea,  had  many  times  fallen  a  victim  to  a 
quarrelsome  disposition,  though  he  fought  hard 
against  it.  We  told  him  of  the  Christian  way 
of  combating  such  a  foe,  but  it  did  not  appeal 
to  him.  He  said  Koreans  had  a  way  too,  but 
he  would  have  to  await  the  New  Year  for  its 
trial.  When  the  New  Year  came,  late  at  night 
we  found  him  in  the  courtyard  flying  a  kite  on 
which  he  had  first  w^ritten,  ''Evil  disposition, 
impatience,  bad  words,  street  fights,"  etc.  It 
was  so  dark  that  no  kite  could  be  seen ;  but 
when  he  had  run  the  string  out  to  its  full  length, 
he  cut  it  and  let  it  go,  imagining  that  so  he  had 
rid  himself  of  his  enemies  and  could  begin  the 
year  with  new  courage. 

Another  regenerating  method  commonly 
practised  is  to  prepare  a  straw  image  which 
contains  in  its  inmost  being  a  written  state- 
ment of  one's  sins  and  shortcomings,  together 
with  a  few  cash.     On  New  Year's  night  beg- 


i6o  Korean  Sketches 

gars  who  play  the  part  of  scapegoat,  come  by 
asking  for  cheyong  or  the  image.  It  is  passed 
out  to  them,  and  they  become  possessed  of  the 
evil,  selling  their  peace  of  soul  for  the  cash 
within. 

Again  another  method  of  finding  peace,  is  by 
making  offerings  before  a  mountain  shrine. 
We  had  one  such  in  front  of  our  gate,  to 
which,  among  others,  came  an  old  woman  to 
rid  herself  of  her  sorrows  and  burdens,  carry- 
ing a  chicken  and  a  bowl  of  rice.  It  was  a 
live  offering,  for  she  left  the  chicken  tied  by  its 
foot  to  the  tree.  Its  peepings  brought  our  cook 
upon  the  scene,  who  cut  the  string,  gave  the 
bird  shelter,  and  when  the  old  woman  came  by 
again,  said,  "  Mother !  here^s  your  chicken." 
But  grandma  lifted  up  her  hands  in  horror,  re- 
fused to  take  it,  and  warned  him  against  what 
he  would  inherit — terrors  worse  than  he  had 
dispossessed  himself  of  when  he  flew  his  kite. 

The  Korean  is  a  marvel  for  mathematical 
calculations.  "  How  much  a  mat?"  I  remem- 
ber once  asking  a  dealer.  "  Five  hundred 
casA,"  was  the  answer.  '*Very  well,  I'll  take 
twenty  mats."  "  Never  !  "  says  he  with  indig- 
nation. "  Cannot  sell  so  many  for  less  than  six 
hundred  a  piece."  Such  reasoning  is  entirely 
inexplicable;  betokening  that  mathematics  have 
gone  to  everlasting  destruction.  His  reckoning 
of  age  is  also  peculiar.     It  is  not  based  upon 


Korean  New  Year  161 

revolutions  of  sun  or  moon,  but  upon  tbe  num- 
ber of  New  Year's  dinners  partaken  of,  with  an 
extra  year  thrown  in,  for  what  reason  I  have 
never  been  able  to  understand.  Thus,  if  a 
child  is  born  in  December,  and  on  New  Year's 
day  joins  the  family  circle  for  refreshments,  it 
is  said  to  be  two  years  old,  though  its  actual 
existence  may  number  only  five  or  six  days. 

Though  defective  in  mathematics,  the  Korean 
has  other  compensating  excellencies.     We  have 
had  a  Parliament  of  Religions,  at  which  we  are 
glad  he  took  no  part ;  but  when  we  shall  have 
a  Parliament  of  National  Amusements,  we  hope 
to  have  him  there  flying  his  New  Year's  kite, 
for  it  is  the  one  form  of  recreation  in  which  he 
especially  excels.     At  this  season  the  upper  air 
of  the  capital  is  alive  with  kites,  dancing  nimbly 
in   groups   or  moving   mysteriously  here    and 
there.     His  kite  is  small  and  square  without 
wings  or  tail,  and  its  evolutions  are  marvellous. 
In  fairly  calm  weather  a  skillful  flyer  can  com- 
mand an  arc  of  some  ninety  degrees  with  his 
kite.     By  a  turn  of  the  wrist  and  a  sweep  of 
the  hand  it  goes  straight  up  into  mid-air,  like  a 
rocket.     Another  turn  and  it  makes  a  somer- 
sault like  a  tumbler  pigeon,  repeating  it  over 
and   over.     Then   it  wanders,  seemingly  with 
great   labor,  to   the  farthest  limit  of  the  arc, 
hesitates,    considers,    and    then    sweeps    hori- 
zontally back  with  great  speed. 


l62  Korean  Sketches 

Each  New  Year  season  there  are  contests  in 
kite  flying,  the  object  being  to  cut  the  enemy's 
string  and  let  his  kite  go.  In  preparation  for 
this,  a  string  is  twisted  of  silk  and  coated  with 
ground  glass  and  porcelain  mixed  with  glue. 
As  it  flies  singing  off  the  reel  you  feel  toward 
such,  much  as  a  bird  might  feel  toward  a  wall 
capped  with  broken  bottles. 

These  contests  are  quite  as  exciting  as  any- 
thing seen  on  an  American  baseball  field.  The 
old  men  in  thickly  padded  suits  are  seated  on 
mats  at  some  point  where  the  view  is  unob- 
structed, while  ordinary  spectators  fill  the 
streets.  The  most  tried  and  skillful  man  of  the 
district  has  the  kite  in  hand.  One  of  the  safe- 
guards of  the  amusement  is,  that  the  actual 
combatants  are  many  yards  apart,  sometimes 
nearly  quarter  of  a  mile,  so  there  is  no  possible 
danger  of  a  misunderstanding  ending  in  a 
melee. 

Little  boys  in  red  jackets  and  white  panta- 
loons are  everywhere  on  tiptoe  of  expectation 
for  fallen  string  or  stray  kite. 

One  tournament  in  the  capital  we  still  re- 
member vividly.  Different  wards  of  the  city 
had  entered  the  lists,  and  even  the  coolies  were 
excited.  After  due  ceremony  the  kites  rose 
slowly  from  the  chosen  centres.  They  were  far 
apart  and  seemed  as  little  in  danger  of  attack- 
ing   each   other   as   the    extreme  ends   of  the 


Korean  New  Year  163 

Dipper.  They  drew  apart  until  sufficient 
string  was  off  the  reel,  and  then  gradually 
pulled  together  until  the  distance  was  spanned. 
Now  they  were  face  to  face,  nodding  politely, 
Bchottishing  back  and  forth,  growing  more 
animated  till  their  motion  assumed  something 
of  the  form  of  a  highland  fling.  Then  they 
swooped  at  each  other — passed  and  repassed — 
shot  by  at  high  speed — struck — one  kite  spun  for 
a  moment ;  then  dived  underneath — the  specta- 
tors held  their  breath.  Now  strings  were  crossed 
and  the  fight  began,  each  party  letting  off  glue 
and  glass  filings  as  fast  as  his  reel  would  spin. 
It  was  the  calling  out  of  reserves  for  the  final 
charge — a  moment  later  one  kite  remained  rid- 
ing triumphantl)^  in  the  sky,  while  the  other 
with  tipsy  motion  floated  off  into  the  blue  azure, 
the  broken  string  falling  over  the  roof-tops. 

A  little  lad  with  radiant  face  and  red  coat 
caught  the  string  and,  in  his  haste,  took  a  grip 
of  it  and  ran  toward  home,  forgetful  of  the 
glass  filings  and  glue.  Some  one  caught  the 
other  end  and  drew  it  through  his  hand.  At 
once  he  dropped  it  and  looked,  and  there  a  line 
oozed  out  of  his  chubby  fingers  as  red  as  his 
New  Year's  jacket.  His  features  suddenly  re- 
versed, and  in  bitterness  and  woe  he  went  home 
to  tell  his  mother  of  the  sorrows  and  defeats  of 
New  Year's  day.  But  over  in  the  other  ward 
there  was  feasting  and  music,  and  the  mothers 


164  Korean  Sketches 

there  said  there  never  had  been  such  kite -flying 
since  the  founding  of  the  dynasty. 

In  the  evening  the  Korean  closes  his  doors  to 
keep  out  Santa  Claus,  whom  he  calls  Ang- 
wangi.  Angwangi  is  an  old  man  who  lives  in 
the  upper  air  and  collects  material  for  New 
Year's  gifts.  As  in  other  parts  of  the  East,  the 
Korean  leaves  his  shoes  at  the  door,  and  Ang- 
wangi comes  down  on  New  Year's  eve  and  tries 
them  on,  leaving  a  memento  of  his  visit.  He  is 
not  the  genial  Santa  Claus  we  know  however, 
but  a  villainous  old  fiend,  whose  gifts  consist 
of  typhus  fever,  cholera,  leprosy  and  the  like. 
There  is  no  joyful  expectation,  but  the  most 
dismal  fear  of  Angwangi.  When  a  child  cries, 
just  as  the  French  mothers  used  to  say  *'  Mal- 
broke  or  Marlborough  is  coming,"  so  Korean 
mothers  say  "  Hush  or  Angwangi  will  catch  you." 
Yet  as  against  other  common  evils  of  the  Orient, 
the  natives  have  a  protection  provided.  One 
way  is  to  bring  all  the  shoes  inside  and  keep  a 
light  burning  for  the  night;  but  in  certain  cases 
bringing  the  shoes  indoors  exposes  the  inmates 
to  other  misfortunes,  and  so  it  has  taken  much 
thoughtful  consideration  and  study  to  meet 
this  case  of  Angwangi.  After  baiting  him  with 
this  and  that  and  attempting  in  vain  to  propi- 
tiate him,  it  was  found  that  a  common  flour- 
sieve  left  at  the  door  would  attract  his  atten- 
tion and  render  him  oblivious  to  all  the  shoes 


Korean  New  Year  165 

of  the  capital,  for  he  has  a  mania  for  counting 
the  meshes  of  the  sieve.  He  counts  and 
counts,  and  before  he  is  aware  the  night  has 
fled,  and  his  opportunity  to  scatter  New  Year's 
pestilence  is  gone.  So  a  sieve  is  always  left 
beside  the  shoe  mat  on  New  Year's  eve. 

As  I  mentioned  in  another  chapter,  stone 
fights  are  a  characteristic  of  Korean  New  Year's 
season.  Even  young  lads  of  ten  and  twelve 
will  indulge  in  this,  by  way  of  practice  for  a 
real  fight  when  they  come  of  age.  One  day 
walking  with  a  friend  along  the  walls  of  the 
city  near  the  West  Gate,  we  came  on  some 
half-dozen  boys  throwing  stones  at  a  small 
group  entrenched  behind  a  mound  on  the  other 
side  of  the  wall.  My  friend  who  was  emphatic 
in  his  manner  attempted  to  remonstrate  with 
the  lads  but  they  merely  grinned  at  him  and 
recommenced.  We  watched  them  to  know 
what  the  end  would  be,  finding  much  to  interest 
us,  until  to  our  terror  a  stone  grazed  the  wall 
of  the  city  and  struck  the  largest  boy  a  tre- 
mendous blow  in  the  mouth.  My  emphatic 
friend  fairly  shook  him  and  said,  "Didn't  I  tell 
you  so  ?  "  The  lad  made  no  reply  but  as  Bret 
Harte  says : 

"He  smiled  a  sort  of  sickly  smile, 
And  curled  up  on  the  floor, 
And  the  subsequent  proceedings, 
Interested  him  no  more." 


i66  Korean  Sketches 

Once  when  attempting  an  unexplored  region 
through  the  south  I  was  overtaken  by  this  fes- 
tive season,  and  yet  it  did  not  prove  a  time  of 
unmixed  happiness  for  me.  The  fact  that  no 
foreigner  bad  been  seen  there  before  made  me, 
to  a  miserable  degree,  the  object  of  curiosity. 
The  dogs  in  every  town  were  simply  beside 
themselves.  They  barked  until  overtaken  by 
sheer  exhaustion,  when  they  lay  down  in  de- 
spair, unable  to  do  the  occasion  justice.  An 
entire  village,  too,  of  the  most  immovable  peo- 
ple on  record,  would  collect,  and  have  you 
pulled,  handled,  and  inspected  in  the  space  of 
a  few  seconds.  After  a  week  of  this,  my 
Korean  friend  and  I  reached  Tagu  the  capital 
of  the  southeastern  province  on  the  day  pre- 
ceding New  Year's  eve.  The  governor  having 
heard  that  something  was  coming,  sent  a  com- 
pany of  runners  to  intercept  our  entrance. 
We  were  made  aware  of  their  approach  in  the 
distance  by  their  fluttering  coats  and  red  hat- 
streamers.  The  officer  in  charge  carried  a 
carved  sabre,  and  gave  his  orders  in  a  stento- 
rian voice.  He  halted  me  and  demanded  my 
passport.  After  giving  him  this  I  was  ordered 
to  wait  in  a  small  room  near  the  South  Gate, 
till  the  governor  should  see  the  passport  and 
decide  what  disposition  should  be  made  of  me. 
Here  I  waited.  Meanwhile  the  population  of 
the  district  began  to  gravitate  toward  the  small 


Korean  New  Year  167 

room,  where  soon  every  crevice  and  corner 
were  filled  with  faces  eager  to  see ;  and  the 
struggle  that  went  on  among  the  sight-seers 
for  points  of  vantage  was  very  violent.  The 
comments  and  opinions  expressed  were  not 
complimentary.  All  delusions  that  I  had  la- 
bored under  concerning  my  personal  appear- 
ance left  me  that  New  Year's  eve  when  I  heard 
what  those  people  had  to  say.  "  Look  at  the 
eyes !  Green  and  upside  down.  Tremendous 
nose  !  Short  coat  and  tight  pantaloons.  They 
must  be  out  of  cloth  in  his  country.  Behold 
the  barbarian!"  Happily  the  officer  returned 
with  a  red  card  from  the  governor  and  an  order 
to  come  at  once.  I  have  learned  that  in  the 
Orient  it  is  best  to  glide  gently  with  the  tide 
of  ceremony,  when  no  question  of  right  or 
honor  is  involved.  So  I  was  shown  in  on 
horseback  with  two  runners  ahead,  each  carry- 
ing a  paddle  about  as  large  as  we  see  on  a  man- 
of-war's  boats.  These  paddles  are  associated, 
not  with  the  word  row^  but  with  the  word  row^ 
for  they  are  used  not  to  joropel,  but  to  eowzpel, 
being  the  wooden  arms  of  the  law  to  enforce 
order.  When  hurrying  through  the  streets,  I 
understood  as  never  before  the  meaning  of  the 
scriptural  phrase,  "  The  sound  of  a  great  multi- 
tude," for  the  people  who  had  collected  for  the 
past  hour  were  after  us  pell-mell.  We  reached 
the  quadrangle  in  front  of  the  governor's  ya- 


i68  Korean  Sketches 

men^  and  were  told  to  wait.  Here  a  confusion 
of  dust  and  disorder  commenced  that  is  quite 
beyond  description.  Had  I  not  been  upon 
horseback,  I  should  have  been  nipped  like  a 
ship  among  the  icebergs;  but  the  pony  that 
had  tried  my  patience  for  a  week  now  stood 
friend  for  me,  and  made  amends  for  past  short- 
comings. The  only  open  space  visible  in  all 
the  square,  was  just  behind  the  pony's  heels,  a 
yard  or  two  in  radius.  The  people  climbed  up 
on  each  other's  backs,  shouted,  fought  and 
struggled.  The  only  consolation  I  had  when  I 
heard  their  question  "  Is  he  devil  or  man  ? " 
was  a  certain  feeling  of  being  associated  with 
Tennyson's  hero,  "  devil  for  ought  they  knew." 
My  Korean  friend  who  had  dismounted  and 
who  had  had  his  white  dress  crumpled  and  his 
patience  trampled  underfoot,  remarked  to  the 
people  that  they  reminded  him  of  a  lot  of  cat- 
tle or  swine,  as  far  as  their  manners  were  con- 
cerned. His  word  was  like  a  match  to  tinder, 
and  we  soon  learned  how  great  a  matter  a  little 
fire  kindleth.  They  resented  this  as  one  man, 
and  were  preparing  to  turn  us  out  of  town,  when 
I  left  my  pony  and  found  shelter  through  a  side 
gate  in  front  of  the  yamen.  Immediately  on 
entering,  the  proprietor,  who  was  a  short  man 
with  a  very  red  nose,  showed  true  Oriental  hos- 
pitality. A  yard  beyond  his  gate  and  he  would 
have  helped  stone  us,  but  the  moment  we  en- 


Korean  New  Year  169 

tered  he  freely  offered  us  the  shelter  and  pro- 
tection of  his  noisome  den.  It  was  an  apart- 
ment rife  with  odors,  cold  and  damp.  The 
owner,  however,  felt  not  the  cold,  for  his  heart 
had  been  warmed  by  native  sul  (whiskey)  and 
every  word  he  spoke  was  charged  with  alcoholic 
atmospheres.  He  gave  me  his  mat  to  sit  upon, 
and  while  the  front  door  filled  with  sight-seers, 
squeezed  himself  close  up  to  my  side  and 
shouted  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  How  old  was  I, 
and  where  had  I  come  from  ?  While  trying  to 
satisfy  his  curiosity,  word  came  that  the  gov- 
ernor was  ready.  Under  an  escort  of  men 
wearing  the  blue  coats  and  red  hat  tassels,  my 
Korean  friend  and  I  passed  through  gate  and 
passageway  up  a  dozen  stone  steps  or  so,  and 
were  before  the  governor,  his  retinue  being 
ranged  on  each  side  of  him.  He  asked  a  ques- 
tion or  two — these  I  remember,  Did  we  have  a 
race  of  one-eyed  cyclops  in  our  country,  or  did 
we  all  wear  two  eyes  ?  Was  it  true  that  West- 
ern people  could  pull  their  teeth  out  and  re- 
place them  at  will  ?  After  other  ethnological 
and  scientific  inquiries  the  interview  ended,  and 
I  was  sent  to  the  mayor  of  the  city,  being  prop- 
erly under  his  jurisdiction  as  to  general  be- 
havior. With  the  same  escort  we  passed  through 
his  gate,  and  found  under  the  eaves  of  his  office 
a  row  of  prisoners  seated  on  the  ground  wear- 
ing a  cangue.     A   canyue  belongs   to   the  same 


lyo  Korean  Sketches 

family  as  stocks  or  ankle-squeezers,  but  is  worn 
round  the  neck.  It  is  a  plank  a  foot  or  more 
in  width,  and  some  four  feet  long,  with  a  hole 
through  the  middle.  Opened  by  a  hinge,  it  can 
be  locked  round  the  neck,  and  there  you  are 
with  a  collar,  that  for  width  and  historical  as- 
sociation surpasses  that  of  Henry  IV.  of  France 
or  Queen  Elizabeth  herself.  As  we  passed  be- 
fore this  solemn  row  of  prisoners,  it  looked  like 
80  many  winking  heads  out  drying  on  a  row  of 
boards  such  as  you  see  Japanese  women  stretch 
cloth  on ;  for  only  the  head  was  visible,  the  rest 
of  the  person  being  concealed  behind  the  col- 
lar. I  began  to  feel  oppressed  by  this  judicial 
atmosphere  that  seemed  to  partake  of  the  na- 
ture of  anything  in  the  world  but  New  Year's 
eve.  Various  styles  of  collars  we  have  worn 
with  satisfaction,  feeling  that  they  fill  an  other- 
wise unhappy  blank  in  the  personal  appear- 
ance ;  but  the  style  of  collar  in  vogue  in  that 
yamen  compound,  lacked  the  association  of  la- 
dies and  other  respectable  society. 

The  mayor  of  the  city  was  specially  cold  in 
his  reception.  When  I  entered  he  was  taken 
with  a  violent  fit  of  coughing  that  lasted  nearly 
all  the  interview.  During  one  period  of  cessa- 
tion he  had  a  prisoner  called,  stretched  on  the 
ground  before  his  window,  and  then  beaten 
with  the  paddles  I  had  seen  carried  through  the 
streets.     The  beating  was  accompanied  hy  pe- 


THE    CANGUE. 


ACCORDING    TO    LAW. 


Korean  New  Year  171 

culiar  long-drawn  notes  to  which  the  paddles 
kept  time.  The  prisoner,  meanwhile  in  agony, 
howled  to  the  gods  and  spirits  of  his  ancestors 
to  witness  that  he  was  innocent.  When  the 
poor  man  had  been  reduced  almost  to  a  pulp, 
he  confessed  that  he  had  done  the  deed,  and 
was  removed  forthwith  to  have  his  wooden  col- 
lar locked  on  again,  and  to  spend  the  night  under 
the  droppings  of  the  eaves.  We  departed  with- 
out further  ceremony,  for  we  were  aware  of  the 
unfriendly  spirit  behind  such  a  reception.  The 
escort  had  disappeared,  and  my  Korean  friend 
and  I  seemed  quite  alone.  On  passing  out  of 
the  gate,  a  number  of  men  caught  Mr.  Yi  and 
tried  to  pull  him  back  into  the  courtyard,  where 
they  threatened  to  decorate  us  with  collar  and 
full  evening  dress.  By  keeping  between  him 
and  his  pursuers,  we  made  our  escape  to  the 
little  room  where  the  short  man  lived,  who  had 
the  very  red  nose  and  the  inquiring  disposition. 
Koreans  are  a  slow  people  to  move,  but  when 
they  do  become  excited,  especially  if  it  is  about 
nothing,  they  are  very  violent;  and  now  I  be- 
gan to  realize  that  my  friend  Yi's  unguarded 
words,  more  especially  his  reference  to  swine, 
had  brought  a  whirlwind  upon  us. 

In  the  mob  that  pushed  into  the  courtyard,  I 
saw  the  form  and  cut  of  dress  of  the  governor's 
chief  secretary — each  official  grade  has  its  par- 
ticular uniform  by  which  it  can  be  recognized. 


172  Korean  Sketches 

A  word  or  two  with  him  might  avail  something 
if  I  could  only  catch  his  ear.  A  moment  later 
he  came  in  through  the  press,  and  I  had  an  op- 
portunity to  ask  him  if  he  would  help  me.  "  In 
what  particular?"  said  he.  "In  this,  it  is  our 
Western  New  Year's  eve  to-night,  and  I  would 
like  quiet  that  I  may  write  a  letter  to  my  father 
and  mother,  for  I  always  write  them  on  New 
Year's  eve."  "  Is  your  father  alive  ? "  asked 
the  secretary  with  some  surprise.  "  Yes,"  I 
said,  "  alive,  and  has  a  very  high  regard  indeed 
for  Korea."  He  at  once  told  those  nearest  him 
that  my  father  and  mother  were  alive,  and  that 
I  was  going  to  write  them  about  their  Land  of 
Morning  Calm.  Word  passed  that  I  was  to  be 
trusted,  for  I  had  been  born  of  parents  and 
showed  unmistakable  signs  of  filial  affection. 
Gradually  the  tumult  quieted,  the  people  took 
their  departure,  and  some  of  the  old  women 
ventured  to  the  front  door  and  shouted  ques- 
tions about  my  maternal  ancestry.  Neither 
years  nor  miles  can  carry  one  beyond  the  pro- 
tection that  the  Orient  recognizes  in  the  sacred 
names,  father  and  mother. 

Mr.  Yi  looked  as  though  a  reprieve  had  come 
to  him  after  sentence  of  death.  He  introduced 
himself  to  the  chief  secretary  and  told  him  it 
was  quite  a  misunderstanding,  that  we  had  not 
come  to  declare  war,  but  purely  on  an  errand 
of  peace.     I  had  now  liberty  to  write,  and  the 


Korean  New  Year  173 

secretary  was  much  impressed  at  seeing  me 
taking  notes;  for  the  ability  to  write  is  the 
summum  honum  of  a  Korean  gentleman's  ex- 
istence. He  of  course  reasoned  from  this  that 
I  was  not  a  barbarian,  but  a  distinguished  sub- 
ject for  entertainment,  and  so  he  provided  an 
elaborate  New  Year's  spread.,  and  came  with 
his  friends  to  help  enjoy  it ;  while  the  governor, 
on  the  secretary's  recommendation  I  know, 
added  a  present  of  dates  and  persimmons. 

The  short  man  with  a  very  red  nose  had,  as 
Koreans  say,  won  face  tremendously,  for  the 
refugees  he  sheltered  had  suddenly  been  ele- 
vated to  the  position  of  public  guests.  He 
became  quite  jubilant,  while,  if  not  the  X-rays, 
the  extraordinary  rays  that  lit  up  his  coun- 
tenance beamed  with  more  spirit  than  ever. 

There  is  a  Korean  ceremony  of  watching  out 
the  Old  Year ;  so  to  do  us  honor  the  company 
remained  the  greater  part  of  the  night,  passing 
compliments,  and  asking  questions  about  our 
customs  and  beliefs. 

We  left  next  day,  and  have  not  since  seen 
the  ancient  city  of  Tagu,  though  memory  still 
goes  back  to  our  New  Year's  visit.  A  company 
of  sympathetic  hermits  saw  us  beyond  the  gates 
and,  with  due  ceremony,  expressed  their  fare- 
wells, '*  Go  in  peace  !  "  and  "In  peace  may  we 
meet  again ! " 


IX 

THE  KOREAN  MIND 

The  great  problem  that  confronts  all  work 
in  the  Far  East  is  the  Oriental  mind.  It  is 
comparatively  easy  to  reach  the  heart,  to  gain 
the  affection  and  esteem  of  the  people,  and  yet 
at  the  same  time  to  be  perfectly  mystified  by 
the  peculiar  mental  make-up  that  is  the  ground- 
work of  all.  So  much  of  life  seems  reversed  or 
standing  on  its  head  in  their  universe  of 
thought,  just  as  is  actually  the  case  in  the 
universe  of  matter.  The  Korean  says,  If  it  is 
true  tbat  the  world  is  round,  then  we  in  the 
West  must  have  power,  like  flies,  to  walk  on 
the  ceiling  of  the  under  world ;  while  we  answer, 
No  !  it  is  you  who  are  upside  down.  Thus  are 
we  born  hopelessly  reversed,  and  thus  must  we 
ever  continue  unless  we  are  given  the  gift  to  be 
all  things  to  all  men — to  stand  on  our  heads  too, 
and  learn  something  of  our  brother  Oriental 
eye  to  eye. 

To  this  end  we  have  to  review  many  of  our 
axioms  of  life,  for  we  find  them  sadly  upset  in 
the  East.  With  all  due  respect  to  Korea,  one 
cannot  but  see  that  love  has  yielded  up  the 
ghost  to  what  seems  to  be  necessity.  Unselfish 
174 


The  Korean  Mind  175 

love  is  a  quantity  foreign  to  the  Oriental  mind; 
in  fact  the  Korean  has  no  true  word  for  love  in 
his  vocabulary;  you  have  to  arrive  at  the 
thought  by  a  combination  of  terms.  He  talks 
of  kindly  condescension,  reverence,  esteem, 
etc.,  but  he  has  no  general  word  for  love. 

The  husband  marries  a  wife  whom  he  does 
not  love,  and  this  is  proper  in  the  mind  of  the 
Orient ;  but  on  the  death  of  the  first  he  takes  a 
second  whom  he  does  love,  and  this  is  all 
wrong,  in  fact  is  a  sin,  and  he  feels  that  he  has 
indeed  outraged  his  conscience.  The  wife  was 
not  meant  to  be  loved,  but  simply  as  an  in- 
animate object  to  serve  her  use  in  supporting 
one  span  of  the  family  line  from  father  to  son. 
Planted  deep  in  the  mire,  she  stands  bearing 
her  portion  of  the  weight  of  this  ancestral 
bridge  connecting  the  ages. 

Once  out  walking,  my  wife  and  I  found  a 
man,  like  the  ancient  mariner,  sitting  alone  on 
a  stone  weeping  in  a  most  hopeless  way.  What 
was  the  matter?  He  lifted  his  eyes  for  a  mo- 
ment and  then  bowed  his  head  again  and  gave 
himself  up  to  his  grief.  We  persisted  in  know- 
ing. His  wife  had  left  him  he  said,  Aigo ! 
Aigo  I  At  last  a  true  case  of  love  it  seemed. 
"But,"  we  said,  to  try  him  with  the  philosophy 
of  this  world,  *'  If  she  does  not  love  you,  why 
should  you  love  her?"  "Love!  who  loves 
her  ?     But  she  made  my  clothes  and  cooked  my 


176  Korean  Sketches 

food — how  can  I  live  without  her  ?  Aigo ! 
Aigo  ! " 

Neither  does  the  independence  of  the  West 
appeal  to  the  Korean.  The  glory  of  the  Amer- 
ican Eagle  with  his  E  pluribus  unum^  he  thinks 
to  be  sheer  madness.  Why  men  should  ever 
think  of  such  a  horse-race  existence,  he  cannot 
imagine.  He  conceives  of  life  as  a  condition  of 
subjection  only.  Independence  to  him  suggests 
suspicion,  mistrust  of  each  other,  lawlessness, 
etc.  "  Where  are  you  going?  "  is  the  ordinary 
question  of  the  street.  "  What's  your  busi- 
ness ?  "  usually  follows.  "  Whom  is  your  letter 
from  ?  "  they  demand — while  all  join  in  help- 
ing to  read  it.  It  would  be  an  outrage  not  to 
share  these  commonplaces  with  every  comer. 
So  we  find  them  doubling  up  over  work  that  is 
mere  child's  play  ;  bearing  the  inconvenience  of 
companions  in  places  where  they  might  be 
doubly  comfortable  alone,  were  it  not  for  their 
dread  of  independence,  which  seems  to  run  con- 
trary to  the  flow  of  all  their  mental  faculties. 

In  education  too,  we  are  at  the  antipodes. 
We  aim  at  the  development  and  preparation  of 
the  student  in  a  practical  way  for  life  before 
him ;  the  Korean  has  no  such  thought.  He 
aims  to  fix  or  asphyxiate  the  mind,  in  order 
that  he  may  shut  the  present  out  and  live  only 
in  the  past.  Development  is  our  idea  ;  limita- 
tion  his.      A    Western   student   rejoices    in  a 


The  Korean  Mind  177 

variety  of  attainments  and  the  number  of 
branches  in  which  he  has  been  introduced; 
while  the  Korean,  in  the  fact  that  he  knows 
nothing  of  any  subject  but  the  reading  and  writ- 
ing of  Chinese  characters.  Twenty  years  of 
seclusion  in  order  that  he  may  be  able  to  read 
and  write ;  and  many  a  student  fails  even  of  this 
after  so  long  a  time.  With  us  education  is  an 
exercise  of  the  faculties,  in  order  that  the  mind 
may  grow ;  in  Korea  it  is  like  a  foot  bandage 
or  plaster  of  paris  jacket  for  the  mind :  once 
fairly  put  on,  and  all  growth  and  development 
is  at  an  end.  Hence  the  fact,  Confucian  scholars 
more  than  any  others  oppose  the  preaching  of 
Christianity. 

However  shiftless  an  American  may  be,  he 
feels  deep  down  in  his  heart  that  labor  is  en- 
nobling. In  theory,  at  any  rate,  children  are 
taught  the  dignity  of  labor.  In  Korea  there  ex- 
ists the  very  opposite  idea.  The  word  for 
labor  is  il,  and  its  secondary  meanings  are  dam- 
age, loss,  evil,  misfortune,  all  of  which  ideas  are 
associated  with,  and  expressed  by,  the  word. 
An  idle  existence  brings  with  it  no  stings  of 
conscience,  in  fact  the  native  who  can  scheme 
to  do  nothing,  proves  by  all  the  logic  of  antiq- 
uity his  right  to  unquestioned  nobility. 

To  us  the  mind  acts  as  a  sort  of  telegraphic 
communication  between  the  heart  and  the 
countenance.     The  joy  or  sorrow  that  overtakes 


lyS  Korean  Sketches 

us,  is  flashed  from  one  to  the  other,  so  that  we 
learn  naturally  to  read  the  inner  soul  by  these 
waves  of  light  and  shadow.  In  Korea  the  mind 
has  other  duties,  the  principal  one  of  which  is  to 
cut  off  communication  between  these  two,  and 
to  make  them  entirely  independent ;  to  flood 
the  countenance  with  mere  surface  expression, 
or,  if  need  be,  to  transform  it  into  an  expression- 
less wilderness.  A  Korean,  in  his  phlegmatic 
way,  shows  utter  indifference  when  his  wife  or  his 
father  dies ;  while  a  Westerner,  true  to  his  feel- 
ings, expresses  by  voice  and  countenance  all  that 
his  heart  experiences.  It  needs  but  a  short  so- 
journ in  the  East  to  teach  us  that  heart  and 
countenance  are  not  necessarily  in  communi- 
cation ;  that  there  are  beneath,  hidden  depths 
and  undercurrents  never  dreamed  of. 

One  is  often  pained  by  mistaking  mere  ap- 
pearance for  reality.  Truth  is  not  loved  for 
truth's  sake,  but  only  in  so  far  as  it  is  necessary 
for  appearances.  The  mind  seems  incapable  of 
understanding  what  some  of  the  commonest 
phases  of  truth  are.  When  the  Emperor  goes  out 
on  procession  the  whole  city  is  ransacked  to  con- 
tribute to  the  show.  Red  earth  is  sprinkled  to 
keep  the  sacred  palanquin  from  passing  over 
polluted  soil,  but  the  sprinkling  is  less  than 
the  salt  and  pepper  in  an  Irish  stew. 

There  is  great  pretense  at  bustle.  Soldiers  in 
confused  haste  are  fleeing  everywhere.     Even 


The  Korean  Mind  179 

the  ponies  take  part  and  bite  viciously.  Feath- 
ers and  flags ;  straggling  lines  of  natives  in  uni- 
form of  five  hundred  years  ago;  squads  with 
rattling  poles  to  provide  the  necessary  music ; 
kettle  drums,  sometimes  beaten,  and  some- 
times merely  threatened ;  thousands  of  pairs 
of  baggy  trousers  and  straw  shoes ;  red  coats 
and  peacock  feathers ;  magnificent  officials, 
perched  on  high  saddles,  holding  on  with  both 
hands,  bumping  up  and  down,  ready  at  any 
moment  to  fall  backward  or  headlong ;  impos- 
ing banners  with  Chinese  characters ;  pipes  to 
smoke  and  pipes  to  blow  ;  Remington  rifles  and 
matchlock  guns ;  bows  and  arrows  and  incense 
bottles  ;  Chicago  corned  beef  and  charms  against 
devils ;  bear's  gall  and  snake  skin ;  modern 
helmets  and  ancient  hats  ;  confusion,  disorder, 
magnificence ;  grandeur  and  squalor ;  ten 
thousand  strong,  moving,  rolling,  bundling, 
in  dust  and  cloud  and  clatter,  a  screaming  mass 
of  discord  and  color.  The  Westerner  is  amazed, 
while  the  native  is  in  an  ecstasy  of  delight  at  so 
magnificent  an  ensemble,  with  no  thought  of 
how  becoming,  or  genuine,  or  useful,  the  com- 
ponent parts  may  be. 

The  more  hangers-on  he  has  the  greater  the 
man.  A  servant  knows  of  no  better  way  to 
honor  his  master  in  the  eyes  of  the  community, 
than  to  urge  him  to  hire  an  extra  coolie  or  two 
to  loaf  about  his  kitchen  or  squeeze  cash  from 


l8o  Korean  Sketches 

those  who  call.  The  house  may  be  falling  into 
ruins,  gates  and  doors  off  the  hinges,  poverty 
staring  in  at  every  chink,  and  yet,  if  only  suffi- 
cient ceremony  and  commotion  is  kept  up,  the 
owner's  position  as  a  man  of  importance  is  as- 
sured ;  appearance,  not  reality,  being  the  aim 
of  life. 

It  is  a  saying  in  the  West  that  when  you  can- 
not depend  upon  a  man's  word,  all  hope  of  him 
as  a  moral  quantity  is  gone.  To  apply  such  a 
rule  to  the  East  would  be  to  condemn  an  entire 
continent.  The  Korean  cannot  understand 
why  we  should  arbitrarily  lay  so  much  stress 
upon  a  man's  word.  Words  they  consider  to  be 
the  cheapest  ingredient  of  life.  To  demand 
that  they  be  held  sacred  is  to  attempt  to  build 
righteousness  out  of  what  costs  us  nothing,  and 
to  interfere  materially  with  the  even  flow  of 
conversation — a  much  more  important  consid- 
eration than  the  words  themselves.  And  so 
their  intercourse  proceeds  upon  the  understand- 
ing that  words  may  mean  nothing  more  than 
a  passing  compliment,  as  we  say.  How  do  you 
do?  and  are  answered  by.  How  do  you  do? 
neither  one,  for  a  moment,  taking  it  as  a  ques- 
tion to  be  answered  by  an  explicit  statement. 

When  a  lady  in  the  West  sends  word  to  an 
unwelcome  caller  that  she  is  out,  there  follows 
an  unpleasant  controversy  between  reason  and 
conscience  ;  but  when  a  Korean  says  that  he  is 


The  Korean  Mind  i8l 

out  or  is  ill,  he  returns  to  his  cushions  in  the 
feeling  that  he  is  indeed  gentlemanly  in  thus 
saying  the  proper  thing.  When  I  first  reached 
Korea,  I  endeavored  to  be  faithful  to  my  friends, 
and  to  be  on  hand  when  they  called.  One  of 
the  most  common  parting  salutations  was, 
"  Nail  do  orita  "  (I  will  come  again  to-morrow). 
Many  never  came ;  those  who  did  left  with  the 
same  promise,  so  that  sooner  or  later  I  found 
that  all  my  best  friends  failed  to  keep  their 
word.  After  a  while  it  dawned  upon  me  that 
words  and  promises  did  not  necessarily  mean 
what  they  expressed,  and  here  I  found  I  was 
on  safe  ground,  able  to  walk  in  a  measure 
peacefully  and  trustfully  with  my  Oriental 
friend. 

So  we  remain  at  the  antipodes  of  thought. 
It  will  take  much  mental  exploration  and  en- 
gineering to  bring  us  within  hailing  distance  of 
each  other :  but  we  trust  still  that  the  day  is 
coming  when  our  hearts  may  be  united  and  our 
minds  may,  in  a  measure  at  least,  be  agreed. 


THE  KOREAN   GENTLEMAN 

The  calm  and  composure  that  environs  a 
Korean  gentleman  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of 
the  Orient.  Embarrassed  he  may  be  by  a 
thousand  debts,  and  threatened  by  a  hungry 
wolf  through  every  chink  in  his  mud  cabin, 
yet  the  placidity  of  his  life  continues  unruffled. 
He  is  a  master  of  a  composure  that  forms  the 
groundwork  of  other  characteristics.  From 
Confucius  he  has  learned  to  mortify  every  nat- 
ural impulse,  and  to  move  as  though  he  acted 
his  part  on  a  stage  where  a  single  misdirected 
smile  or  thoughtless  measure  would  upset  the 
greatest  piece  on  record.  His  choicest  word  is 
yei^  meaning  proper  form.  If  he  only  keeps 
yeiy  he  may  offend  against  every  command  in 
the  decalogue  and  still  be  a  superior  man,  in 
fact  may  be  perfectly  holy.  If  he  breaks  yei^ 
he  is  covered  with  confusion,  and  counts  him- 
self the  vilest  of  the  vile. 

Yei  of  course  is  Confucianism.  If  you  speak 
a  word  in  disparagement  of  yei^  the  gentleman 
is  frantic,  forgets  yei  altogether  for  the  moment 
in  his  effort  at  violence. 

The  Korean  speaks  respectfully  of  Mencius 

182 


The  Korean  Gentleman  183 

as  Mangy  and  of  Confucius  as  Kong,  so  that  the 
names  coupled  together  would  read  Mdng-kong. 
This  word  mdng-kong  has  unfortunately  an- 
other meaning,  namely,  the  croaking  of  frogs. 
A  ^Korean  gentleman,  who  had  travelled  much 
abroad,   and    had  learned   foreign   languages, 
came  home  quite  outdone  with  Korea's  ancient 
civilization,  and  particularly  set  against  Con- 
fucianism.    In  one  of   his  public  lectures   in 
Seoul  to  a  company  of  Koreans,  he  made  use 
of  the  word  mdng-kong.     "What  benefit,"  said 
he,  "has  Confucius  been  to  Korea  ?     Those  best 
versed  in  his  doctrines  are  the  most  helpless  and 
useless  people  we  have.     They  simply  sit^  and 
croak  mdng-kong,  mdng-kong  to  everything."    A 
scholar  who  heard  him,  and  whom  I  know  well, 
left  the  meeting  in  a  piping  fury.     "  Nothing," 
said  he,  "  but  the  knife  for  men  like  that."    He 
had  forgotten  yei  for  the  moment,  and  was  will- 
ing to  be  an  assassin,  if  only  he  might  defend 
its  sacred  name. 

Anything  that  interferes  with  the  rigid  fulfill- 
ment of  yei  is  of  course  to  be  avoided,  for  which 
reason  no  gentleman  indulges  in  manual  labor, 
or  in  fact  in  labor  of  any  kind.  His  life  con- 
sists in  one  supreme  command  of  coolie  service, 
while  the  coolie  responds  to  every  order.  The 
lighting  of  his  pipe  or  the  rubbing  of  ink  on 
the  inkstone,  must  be  done  for  him.  Down  to 
the  simplest  requirement  of  life  he  does  noth- 


184  Korean  Sketches 

ing,  so  his  hands  become  soft  and  his  finger 
uails  grow  long.  From  constant  sitting  his 
bones  seem  to  disintegrate  and  he  becomes 
almost  a  moUusk  befi-ire  he  passes  middle  life. 

When  once  they  have  attained  to  this  physical 
condition  of  pulp,  they  are  in  a  measure  im- 
mune from  the  thumps  and  shocks  of  ordinary 
life.  It  was  my  misfortune  once  to  ride 
through  a  rough  and  mountainous  country  in 
company  with  a  Korean  gentleman.  By  keep- 
ing a  constant  hold  on  the  halter  rope,  I  man- 
aged to  escape  a  back  somersault  whenever  the 
pony  jumped.  I  warned  Mr.  Cho  of  the  dan- 
ger he  ran  in  sitting  bolt  upright  on  the  pack, 
without  girders  or  supports  of  any  kind  to 
protect  him.  He  remarked,  in  reply,  that  it 
was  not  good  Korean  custom  to  hold  on  the 
halter  as  I  advised,  and  so  we  proceeded. 
When  the  sun  grew  hot,  he  added  to  his  al- 
ready top-heavy  condition  by  opening  an  um- 
brella. The  startled  pony  with  one  bound, 
shot  Mr.  Cho  backward  out  of  the  saddle,  and 
his  fall,  which  is  the  point  of  my  story,  was 
marvellous  to  behold.  On  the  uneven  surface 
of  the  road  he  flattened  out  like  a  ball  of  paris 
plaster.  Jacket  and  pantaloons  were  lost  sight 
of,  even  the  hat,  like  a  spot  on  the  sun,  was 
but  an  irregularity  of  color  on  an  otherwise 
flattened  surface.  But  from  this  mass  came 
forth  the   man,  illustrating   how  we   have   all 


The  Korean  Gentleman  185 

proceeded  from  original  protoplasm,  for"  he 
pulled  himself  together,  and  said  he  was  none 
the  worse,  though  I  should  certainly  have  been 
damaged  seriously  by  such  a  fall. 

Not  all  the  gentry  by  any  means  are  scholars, 
though  they  ought  to  be  if  they  came  up  to  the 
standard  of  Confucian  requirement.  Those 
who  have  attained  to  this  are  marked  and  hon- 
ored men;  they  are  all  but  worshipped  by  the 
mass  of  the  people,  and  are  given  the  freedom 
of  every  city  in  the  Kingdom  ;  they  are  admit- 
ted as  distinguished  guests  into  the  presence  of 
the  highest,  free  of  pass.  Chinese  characters 
seem  to  have  for  these  few  a  consuming  fascina- 
tion. Not  so  much  the  thought  conveyed  as 
the  character  itself,  seems  the  object  of  venera- 
tion. From  them  he  "  builds "  (chitd)  forms 
of  expression  and  verses  as  a  child  builds  en- 
chanted castles  from  blocks  of  different  sizes; 
and  as  there  is  no  limit  to  the  variations  and 
combinations  possible,  so  there  is  no  limit  to 
the  charm  they  possess.  Two  scholars  can  find 
sufficient  to  interest  them  for  a  day  in  a  single 
character,  and  as  there  are  in  use  some  20,000 
characters,  they  have  a  fund  of  interest  to  draw 
on  that  will  last  for  half  a  century.  No  at- 
tempt is  ever  made  to  write  more  than  original 
ditties  or  mottoes ;  anything  approaching  to  an 
original  work  in  Chinese  would  be  like  an  at- 
tempt to  outdo  Homer  in  Greek — presumption 


i86  Korean  Sketches 

unheard  of.  So  the  scholar  plays  his  life  away 
with  this  unending  rosary  of  ideographs,  that 
entwine  not  only  his  neck,  but  his  mind,  and 
heart,  and  soul. 

For  the  unlettered  gentry  Chinese  has  no 
charm.  They  keep  a  few  learned  expressions 
at  their  finger  ends,  as  a  sort  of  bulwark  of 
defence  when  hard  pressed,  but  as  far  as  pos- 
sible they  avoid  the  subject.  Their  life, 
since  shut  off  from  intellectual  pleasure,  con- 
sists of  material  pleasure,  dress  and  enjoyment. 
This  class  of  scholar  is  exceedingly  common  in 
Korea.  In  immaculate  white  he  emerges  from 
the  holes  and  corners  of  every  mud  village.  If 
he  is  an  official  of  importance,  he  does  not 
walk  alone,  but  is  assisted  by  the  arms  on  each 
side.  If  he  ventures  by  himself,  it  is  with  a 
magnificent  stride  that  clears  the  street  of  in- 
different passers,  and  commands  only  on-look- 
ers.  In  one  hand  is  a  pipe  three  feet  long,  in 
the  other  a  fan;  over  his  eyes  two  immense 
discs  of  dark  crystal,  not  to  assist  him  in 
seeing,  but  to  insure  his  being  seen.  How  pre- 
cious these  are  !  Many  a  man  will  forego  the 
necessaries  of  life  if  only  he  can  gain  a  pair  of 
Kyilng-ju^  (spectacles),  and  so  cover  himself 
with  glory  before  an  on-looking  assemblage.  I 
once  offended  greatly  against  yei  in  an  effort  to 
befriend  an  impecunious  gentleman,  who  had 
told  me  of  his  financial  embarrassments.     He 


The  Korean  Gentleman  187 

was  at  the  time  wearing  a  pair  of  dark  crystals, 
and  thinking  to  make  him  a  present  under 
cover  of  a  purchase,  I  offered  him  thirty  yang 
or  six  American  dollars  for  his  glasses.  He 
was  amazed  to  think  that  I  should  virtually 
ask  them  for  nothing,  for  he  had  paid  equal  to 
fifteen  dollars  for  them  and  a  bargain  they  had 
been  at  that.  This  is  one  of  the  absurdities  of 
the  Orient,  where  a  man  pays  two  or  three 
months'  income  for  something  absolutely  worth- 
less. Oriental  methods  are  so  extremely  ab- 
surd that  there  is  no  hope  of  an  Occidental 
demonstration  by  which  to  rectify  them. 

The  impecuniosity  of  a  Korean  gentleman  is 
also  a  profound  mystery.  I  have  figured  for 
years  on  the  question  as  to  how  an  idle  man, 
with  nothing  left  to-day,  shall  outlive  to-mor- 
row ;  but  he  lives,  dresses  just  as  well  and 
misses  none  of  his  meals.  He  will  tell  you 
frankly  that  the  last  of  his  hopes  for  a  liveli- 
hood have  perished,  he  is  financially  a  total 
wreck,  and  his  present  condition  is  one  of 
clinging  to  the  rocks,  where  he  is  in  momen- 
tary peril  of  the  devouring  element.  You  are 
exercised  deeply  on  his  behalf;  much  more 
deeply,  you  learn  later,  than  he  himself  is. 
Months  pass  and  he  is  still  in  the  same  condi- 
tion— a  condition  in  extremis^  no  better,  no 
worse.  By  way  of  encouragement  I  have  said: 
"  You   have  managed   to   eat   and   live   for  a 


l88  Korean  Sketches 

month  and  more  on  nothing,  just  continue  on 
in  the  same  manner  and  you  will  do  very 
well."  "  Eat  and  live,"  says  he,  **  of  course 
every  dog  eats  and  lives ;  you  would  not  ex- 
pect me  to  lie  down  and  die,  would  you?" 
And  he  leaves  in  disgust,  feeling  that  the  deli- 
cate points  of  an  Oriental  question  can  never 
penetrate  the  shell  that  encases  the  barbarian's 
brain. 

The  fact  that  tradesmen  and  business  people 
are  regarded  as  low,  encourages  the  Korean 
gentleman  to  neglect  thought  and  training  in 
this  line.  He  is  a  veritable  cLild  in  business. 
Many  a  foreigner  entrusts  his  affairs  to  his 
native  teacher,  and  wonders  why  they  should 
turn  out  so  unsatisfactorilj^  in  the  hands  of  a 
native.  If  business  must  be  transacted  an 
honest  "  boy "  will  quite  outdo  in  executive 
skill  the  best  and  most  honest  scholar. 

Not  only  in  business  but  in  other  affairs  of 
life  the  Korean  gentleman  is  a  master  of  in- 
accuracy. He  pretends  to  be  absolutely  certain 
of  everything  under  the  sun,  and  no  subject 
ever  daunts  him  or  is  beyond  his  ability  to 
elucidate.  The  slightest  clue  gives  him  a  key 
to  the  whole ;  merely  let  him  see  the  smoke 
from  the  funnel  and  he  will  explain  to  you  the 
why  and  wherefore  of  a  steam  engine.  He  will 
tell  you  what  a  comet's  tail  is  composed  of,  or 
what  color  the  dog  is  that  causes  the  eclipse  of 


The  Korean  Gentleman  189 

the  moon.  He  compares  the  minor  details  of 
life  about  him  with  what  went  on  in  the  days 
of  king  Sun — a  contemporary  of  Noah — with  as 
much  assurance  as  we  would  talk  of  the  events 
of  yesterday.  The  new  arrival  in  the  Land 
of  Morning  Calm  begins  to  think  what  a 
marvel  of  information  this  man  is,  and  what  a 
fund  of  accurate  knowledge  he  has  acquired, 
and  he  a  heathen,  too.  It  is  only  when  you 
put  his  statements  to  the  test  you  find  he  is 
astray  in  everything.  By  the  rarest  accident 
he  may  be  right,  but  it  is  the  exception. 
He  has  no  intention  of  deceiving  you.  The 
defect  lies  in  the  fact  that  there  is  some- 
thing radically  wrong  with  his  manner  of 
reasoning,  and  of  putting  two  and  two  to- 
gether. 

He  has  a  profound  contempt  for  woman, 
speaking  of  her  generally  as  kechip  or  female. 
He  takes  for  wife  the  one  his  father  bargains 
for,  raising  no  question  as  to  her  looks,  health 
or  avoirdupois.  She  is  a  subject  altogether 
beneath  the  consideration  of  a  member  of  the 
male  sex  with  its  massive  understanding.  She 
is  relegated  to  the  inner  enclosure  and  lives  a 
secluded  life.  He  refers  to  her  as  hosiki  (what- 
you-may-call-her),  or  keu  (she),  and  never  loses 
an  opportunity  of  showing  how  little  is  the 
place  she  occupies  in  his  extensive  operations. 
If   the   truth  were    told,  however,   we   would 


igo  Korean  Sketches 

know  that  the  little  woman  within  that  en- 
closure is  by  no  means  the  cypher  he  pretends 
her  to  be ;  but  that  she  is  really  mate  and  skip- 
per of  the  entire  institution,  and  that  no  man 
was  ever  more  thoroughly  under  petticoat  gov- 
ernment than  this  same  Korean  gentleman. 

His  prime  object  in  life  is  to  have  a  son  who 
will  sacrifice  to  his  shades  when  he  is  dead  and 
gone.  The  boy  is  expected  to  obey  his  father 
implicitly.  If  he  but  develop  that  trait,  he 
may  grow  up  to  be  quite  as  useless  or  more  so 
than  his  sire,  and  yet  be  a  model  son.  If  no 
son  is  born  to  him,  he  adopts  a  nephew  or 
near  relative  as  the  best  substitute  under  the 
circumstances.  But  the  stranger  never  wholly 
takes  the  place  of  the  real  son,  who  is  regarded 
in  this  life  as  his  strong  right  arm,  and  in  the 
life  to  come  as  his  eternal  satisfaction. 

In  order  to  make  sure  of  this  eternal  life 
through  posterity,  the  gentleman  marries  his 
son  off  when  he  is  still  a  mere  boy,  sometimes 
but  nine  or  ten  years  of  age.  Child  marriage 
is  one  of  the  old  and  respected  customs  in 
Korea.  That  it  is  not  more  common  is  because 
it  requires  an  outlay  of  money  which  parents 
are  not  always  willing  or  able  to  make,  and  so 
the  lad  is  sometimes  left  unmarried  till  he  can 
provide  for  himself. 

The  serious  question  in  the  life  of  a  Korean 
gentleman  is  the  service  of  his  ancestor-shades. 


THE    WARDROBE    OF    THE    GENTRY. 


KOSIKI    (WHAT-YOU-MAY-CALL-HER) 


The  Korean  Gentleman  191 

His  life  is  marked  by  periods  of  mourning- 
three  years  for  parents,  and  lesser  periods  for 
more  distant  relatives.  A  succession  of  fasts 
and  feasts,  requiring  forms  of  dress  and  outlays 
of  money,  consumes  more  of  his  time  and  means 
than  all  the  provision  for  the  family  living.  To 
neglect  these  forms  would  degrade  him  to  the 
level  of  a  Mohammedan  who  had  renounced  his 
faith. 

We  have  glimpses  occasionally  of  the  gentle- 
man's ability,  as  he  shares  in  the  games  of  the 
outer  guest  chamber.  Chess  and  patoh,  a  kind 
of  draughts,  he  plays  frequently.  A  half  hour's 
teaching  will  show  him  the  moves  on  a  foreign 
chess  board,  and  a  very  respectable  player  he 
becomes  from  the  outset.  His  best  work  is 
seen  in  the  leisurely  development  of  the  game. 
Rapidity  or  excitement  upsets  him.  I  have 
seen  excellent  players,  master  amateurs  of  the 
board,  who  have  had  no  gift  whatever  for  the 
solving  of  problems.  When  one  attempt  failed 
they  would  give  it  up  and  say  "  It  can't  be 
done."  This  again  proves  the  jelly-fish  in  his 
nature,  his  condition  being  passive,  not  active. 
Anything  like  a  determined  effort  he  is  entirely 
incapable  of,  as  the  mollusk  is  incapable  of  per- 
forming the  feats  of  the  shark  or  sword-fish. 
Were  I  to  choose  one  common  saying  from  the 
language  that  enters  more  largely  into  the  life 
and  character  of  the   Korean  gentleman  than 


192  Korean  Sketches 

any  other,  it  would  be  Mot  hao  or  Hal  8u  upso 
(No  help  for  it  or  It  can't  be  done). 

A  marked  characteristic  of  a  Korean  gentle- 
man's home  is  its  entire  respectability.  There 
is  frankness  and  freedom  in  speech,  but  no 
looseness;  and  few  conditions  exist  that  would 
offend  in  the  best  ordered  Western  household. 
Strange  to  say,  even  in  a  home  where  there  are 
a  number  of  concubines,  propriety  and  good  or- 
der obtain.  I  once  made  a  journey  to  Japan 
with  a  strict  and  devout  Korean  Confucianist, 
Mr.  Cheung.  He  liad  heard  much  of  Christ 
and  Christianity,  and  while  he  assented  to,  and 
rejoiced  in,  whatever  of  it  agreed  with  his  an- 
cient faith,  he  remained  a  Confucianist  firm  as 
ever.  We  took  ship  in  one  of  the  ports  of 
Korea  and  started  for  Japan.  He  had  heard  of 
the  adoption  of  Western  life  and  customs  in  the 
Sunrise  Kingdom,  and  was  desirous  to  see  some- 
thing of  the  benefits  it  would  confer  upon  a 
race.  The  first  thing  he  saw  was  the  depravity 
of  the  women ;  "  Selling  themselves,"  said  he, 
*'  before  the  eyes  of  onlookers,  and  for  copper 
money  too."  A  year's  residence  in  the  country 
confirmed  him  in  the  belief  that  what  he  had 
seen  was  not  the  exception,  but  a  national  trait. 
"  When  women  are  so  depraved  the  men  must 
be  equally  so.  They  know  nothing  of  Confu- 
cius and  no  fear  of  God  is  before  their  eyes. 
Western  civilization  merely  tends  to  make  their 


The  Korean  Gentleman 


193 


depravity  more  exceedingly  depraved."  He 
lived  as  in  a  kind  of  nightmare — horror-stricken 
by  nudity  and  obscenity  such  as  he  had  never 
dreamed  of  in  his  isolated  kingdom.  He  saw 
two  drunken  English  and  American  sailors,  and 
the  so-called  respectables  whose  life  was  but  a 
whirl  of  pleasure  seeking.  "  Your  Christ,"  said 
he,  "  has  but  a  meagre  hold  upon  you  after  all." 
He  had  put  off  his  dress  and  laid  aside  his  top- 
knot, but  his  heart  remained  still  faithful  to  the 
garments  of  his  ancient  faith.  The  more  he 
saw  of  life  abroad,  the  more  he  sighed  for  his 
straw  roof  and  mud  hut,  where  modesty  and 
virtue  had  honor  still,  and  where  life  was  lived 
with  some  degree  of  regard  for  the  teachings  of 
the  ancient  sages. 

So  he  passes  from  us  one  of  the  last  and  most 
unique  remains  of  a  civilization  that  has  lived 
its  day.  His  composure,  his  mastery  of  self, 
his  moderation,  his  kindliness,  his  scholarly  at- 
tainments, his  dignity,  his  absolute  good-for- 
nothingness,  or  better,  unfitness  for  the  world  he 
lives  in — all  combine  to  make  him  a  mystery  of 
humanity,  that  you  cannot  but  feel  kindly 
toward  and  intensely  interested  in. 


XI 

KOREA'S   PRESENT   CONDITION" 

This  small  peninsula  presents  to  those  inter- 
ested in  missions  perhaps  the  most  startling  field 
opened  up  during  this  missionary  century. 
Till  within  the  last  decade  it  was  closed  and 
barred  against  every  one.  Even  the  Chinese, 
who,  up  till  1894,  received  the  yearly  ambassa- 
dor with  Korea's  tribute,  knew  as  little  as  oth- 
ers of  the  inner  life  of  the  people.  Since  the 
distant  past,  Korea  has  remained  entirely  alone, 
and  has  endeavored  to  work  her  way  independ- 
ent of  others.  The  result  has  been  that  she  has 
built  up,  as  suitable  for  her  life  as  a  hermit,  sys- 
tems that  have  been  subjected  to  violent  agita- 
tions since  she  has  entered  the  company  of 
treaty-making  nations. 

At  no  point  in  her  history  of  a  thousand 
years  has  there  been  such  overwhelming  force 
brought  to  bear  upon  her  cherished  customs,  as 
at  the  present  time.  A  war  with  Japan  three 
hundred  years  ago,  cost  Korea  a  great  deal  of 
life,  and  almost  her  individuality,  destroyed 
her  ancient  monuments,  and  robbed  her  of  her 
arts  and  manufactures ;  but  when  the  enemy 
withdrew,  she  revived  slightly  and  continued 
194 


Korea's  Present  Condition  195 

to  exist.  A  hundred  years  later,  a  Manchurian 
swoop  upon  the  capital  left  her  in  nominal  sub- 
jection only ;  and  she  still  remained  mistress  of 
her  own  fortunes.  But  the  opening  of  the 
ports  has  rung  a  knell  to  ancient  Choscin  (Korea). 
The  influence  that  enters  through  these  gates 
is  an  enemy  that  knows  of  no  retreat,  so  that 
Korea's  continuance  as  a  hermit  is  no  longer 
possible. 

The  present  period  threatens  to  destroy  not 
only  her  established  means  of  livelihood,  but 
also  her  social  systems  ;  and  unless  Christianity 
be  brought  her,  nothing  but  superstition,  agnos- 
ticism, and  chaos  will  be  her  portion. 

Her  entrance  into  foreign  life  has  been  through 
a  hideous  nightmare,  begin iiing  with  the  Tong- 
haks,  continuing  through  the  Japan-China  war, 
and  closing  with  the  murder  of  the  Queen.  No 
wonder  the  Queen  questioned  the  success  of  in- 
ternational fraternities.  It  is  generally  admit- 
ted that  the  rising  of  the  Tonghaks  was  insti- 
gated by  outside  parties,  who  desired  to  bring 
on  a  war  with  China.  Korea  had  no  desire  for 
independence.  She  regarded  China  as  a  child 
regards  a  parent — one  from  whom  it  would  be 
unnatural  to  sever  relationship,  especially  since 
this  parent  had  been  indulgent  enough  to  leave 
her  free  to  carve  out  her  own  fortunes.  She 
felt  in  fact  honored  by  recognition  from  the 
great  middle  kingdom,  which  is  the  glorious 


196  Korean  Sketches 

centre  of  a  Korean's  universe.  The  battle  cry 
of  "Freedom  for  Korea !"  was  one  of  those 
pretty  conceits  or  deceits  of  the  Orient,  meant 
simply  to  throw  unwary  Occidentals  off  the 
scent.  Such  a  cry  reminds  one  of  the  fox, 
who  being  anxious  lest  the  mother  hen  should 
sit  too  hard  upon  her  chickens,  made  a  special 
raid  upon  the  poultry  yard  to  rescue  them  from 
their  thralldom. 

The  great  burden  of  the  war  fell  on  North 
Korea.  P'yong-yang  was  devastated.  The 
country  for  miles  about  became  a  wilderness, 
poisoned  by  the  stench  from  the  battlefield. 
At  last  the  armies  crossed  the  Yalu,  and  the 
nation  settled  down  under  a  new  regime  dic- 
tated by  Japan.  But  a  certain  Stonewall  Jack- 
son stood  in  the  way  of  Japan's  reforms.  The 
ablest  minister  they  could  send  found  himself 
outwitted,  checkmated,  defeated,  until  he  beat 
a  retreat,  gave  up  the  fight,  and  went  home. 
Who  could  but  admire  the  courage,  the  shrewd- 
ness, the  womanliness  of  this  little  Queen  of 
Korea,  who  standing  for  the  best  interests  of 
her  country,  so  ably  outgeneralled  the  Japanese 
minister  and  his  wisest  aides !  Who  would  have 
believed  that  so  foul  a  deed  could  be  committed 
in  an  age  of  fair  play !  Four  hundred  men, 
pretending  to  stand  for  civilization,  dressed  in 
western  uniforms  with  stars,  gold  lace  and 
epaulettes,  speaking  the  most  graceful  language 


Korea's  Present  Condition         197 

of  the  Orient,  made  their  way  over  the  palace- 
wall  at  night,  their  mission  being  to  murder  one 
helpless  woman,  and  she  the  Queen  of  Korea. 
One  is  amazed  to  think  that  among  four  hundred 
men  there  was  not  a  single  manly  heart,  but  all 
four  hundred  of  them  unspeakable  cowards, 
from  the  officer  in  command  to  the  craven  coolie 
in  the  rear.  The  common  story,  without  ques- 
tion the  true  one,  is :  They  hacked  the  Queen 
to  death  with  "gallant  "  samauri  swords,  poured 
kerosene  on  her  body  and  burned  it  to  prevent 
recognition.  They  killed  three  or  four  other 
palace  women  to  make  sure  they  had  the  right 
one,  and  then  marched  out — noble  four  hun- 
dred !  The  people  of  Korea  were  horror- 
stricken,  while  the  King  himself  remained  a 
prisoner  from  October,  1895,  to  February,  1896. 
Then  he  made  his  escape  into  the  Russian 
Legation,  and  the  world  that  was  civilized  and 
aware  of  the  facts  shouted,  hurrah  ! 

But  to  enter  more  closely  upon  the  facts.  The 
year  1894  was  one  of  special  darkness  for  Choson. 
With  the  opening  of  the  first  moon  there  were 
rumors  of  Tonghaks  everywhere,  and  not  a 
native  called  but  had  some  dire  tale  of  massacre 
to  tell.  The  Tonghaks  were  God-worshippers 
and  man-slayers.  They  ate  spirit  medicines, 
and  could  kill  by  a  look.  They  said  a  rifle 
bullet  would  have  no  more  effect  on  them  than 
Burns'  whittle  on  Hornie.     We  were  all  full  of 


198  Korean  Sketches 

Tonghak.  The  government  seemed  to  have 
been  struck  by  leprosy  or  some  other  ghastly 
paralysis.  Officials  were  plundered,  the  author- 
ity of  His  Majesty  was  trampled  under  foot, 
and  so  with  outstretched  hand,  he  implored 
Ta-guk  (the  Great  Empire  of  China)  to  help 
him.  Ta-guk  came  in  with  a  lot  of  ragamuf- 
fins, and  the  Tonghaks  increased  as  the  season 
advanced.  Friend  Yi,  who  had  shared  my  joys 
and  sorrows  for  six  years,  went  in  command  of  a 
company  to  help  the  sublime  generalissimo  of 
China  annihilate  the  Tonghaks.  Yi  refuses  to 
tell  the  experiences  that  befell  him  during  this 
march  southward.  He  came  back  neither  in 
disgrace  nor  condemned  to  be  beheaded,  and  so 
I  conclude  that  he  is  one  of  the  most  unsuccess- 
ful military  officers  in  the  Far  East.  Mean- 
while China  had  stirred  up  so  much  trouble, 
that  Japan  came  in  to  put  it  down  and  they 
two  declared  war. 

At  that  time  I  was  building  a  house  on  the 
east  coast  at  Wcinsan  or  Gensan,  and  had  in 
my  employ  some  twenty  Chinamen.  They 
were  confident  that  a  couple  of  months  would 
suffice  Ta-guk  to  change  the  Sunrise  Kingdom 
into  a  region  of  everlasting  darkness,  and  that 
the  few  remaining  wo-jen  would  perish.  On 
July  25th,  the  wo-jen  sunk  the  Kowshing  with 
1,200  Chinamen  on  board.  They  sighted  the 
vessel  and  overhauled  her  with  the  Naniwa  kan. 


Korea's  Present  Condition  199 

The   transport   ship   was   as  helpless  as  Hono- 
lulu would  be  in  case  of  au  attack  by  sea,  and 
so  she  dropped  anchor.     A    Japanese    official 
went  on  board  and  ordered  the  Chinese  to  fol- 
low as  prisoners  of    war.     Why   the   Chinese 
did  not  shoot  the  officer  I  do  not  know.     They 
refused  to  go  to  Japan,  and  when  the  English 
captain  threatened  to  leave  the  ship,  they  said 
they  would  shoot  him  if  he  did.    So  the  Naniwa 
cleared  her  decks  and  prepared  for  action.    One 
tremendous  explosion,  and  the  Koicshing  like 
the  Maine  was  deep  under  water  with  her  help- 
less cargo,  generals  and  privates  struggling  for 
their  lives.     It  is  said  upon  good  authority  that 
Japan  turned  her  machine  guns  on  these  poor 
wretches.     Can  it  possibly  be  true  that  Japan 
is  as  vindictively  savage  as  some  of  these  acts 
during  the  late  war  have  shown  her  to  be !    The 
sinking  of  the  Kowshing,  the  massacre  at  Port 
Arthur,  the  murder  of   the  Queen  of  Korea ! 
We  wish  Japan  well,  but  one  need  not  be  a 
military  officer  or  a  diplomat  to  know  that  no 
wishing  can  avail  to  bring  permanent  success 
out  of  such  barbarism. 

From  amongst  those  struggling  in  the  water 
the  Japanese  picked  up  the  English  officers, 
brought  them  aboard  the  Naniwa,  rubbed  the 
captain  dry  lest  he  should  take  cold,  warmed 
him  with  champagne,  and  we  were  told,  pre- 
sented him  with  three  thousand  dollars  which 


200  Korean  Sketches 

he  might  return  on  the  day  of  judgment.  A 
multitude  of  bubbles  from  the  pattering  of  the 
leaden  hail  and  the  drowning  Chinamen — and 
the  sea  was  calm  and  beautiful.  Four  days 
later  Japan  turned  her  trained  Western  forces 
on  a  scattered  rabble  at  Asan.  The  fleeing 
Chinamen  made  a  circuit  of  Kang-won,  Whang- 
ha  and  P'yong-an  provinces  to  P'yong-yang. 
Along  the  way  they  spread  terror  everywhere. 
Korean  women  escaped  to  the  hills  and  old 
men  sat  down  and  cried  as  these  vandals  from 
the  Empire  of  Heaven  plundered  and  robbed. 
Certainly  the  passage  of  the  two  armies  con- 
trasted greatly,  and  if  Japan  ever  scored  in 
Korea,  it  was  when  she  led  her  soldiers 
through  the  Peninsula,  paying  as  they  went, 
and  respecting  the  lives  and  property  of  the 
people.  Into  P'yong-yang  the  Chinese  bun- 
dled, there  joining  the  forces  of  General  Tso, 
helping  to  devour  the  two  hundred  pigs  that  a 
Korean  told  me  were  slaughtered  daily  for  the 
army. 

Meanwhile  troops  had  landed  at  Wonsan. 
One  bright  Sunday  morning  in  August  as  we 
were  assembled  in  a  Christian  meeting,  a  half- 
dozen  transports  were  sighted  on  the  horizon. 
The  hills  everywhere  were  lined  with  eager  and 
expectant  natives,  watching  these  fire  ships 
and  wondering  what  death-dealing  cargo  they 
would   bring.     It  was   not    noon  till  the  hills 


WONSAN,  JAPANESE    SETTLEMENT. 


WONSAN,   CHINESE    SETTLEMENT. 


Korea's  Present  Condition         201 

that  had  known  only  a  people  dressed  in  white 
were  alive  with  diminutive  soldiers,  uniformed 
in  blue,  knapsacked  and  rifled.  My  twenty- 
three  Chinamen  had  lost  hope  in  the  god  of 
war.  The  old  cook  trembling  in  mortal  terror, 
came  rubbing  his  hands,  bowing  to  my  wife 
and  crying:  "  Save  me  !  Oh!  save  me  !  "  She 
saved  him  by  stowing  him  in  an  inner  room  be- 
hind the  bed ;  a  leg  of  chicken  and  a  piece  of 
pie  were  given  him,  and  the  Chinaman  forgot 
the  horrors  of  war  under  these  reviving  condi- 
tions of  peace.  Japs  were  everywhere.  My 
friend  Yi  went  out  to  talk  with  some  of  them, 
and  they  confessed  that  they  were  ready  for 
England  as  well  as  China,  if  she  liked  to  take 
a  hand.  A  sage  once  said,  "  A  big  man  for 
peace,  a  little  man  for  conceit,  and  a  woman 
for  war."  The  Japanese  are  noted  for  their 
women  and  their  little  men — in  fact  they  are 
the  littlest  men  on  record. 

Two  days  later  the  army  moved  out  of  the 
port  toward  Seoul,  one  hundred  and  eighty-five 
miles  distant.  Then  came  a  month  when 
Wonsan  was  left  unprotected,  at  the  mercy  of 
the  Chinese,  who  could,  at  a  moment's  notice, 
have  murdered  the  entire  community.  My 
house  builders  had  fled,  and  bricks,  mortar  and 
timbers  were  lying  in  confusion.  Reports 
reached  us  every  day  that  the  enemy  was  right 
on    us,  death  was  frequently  in  our  ears.     It 


202  Korean  Sketches 

was  a  time  of  earnestness,  for  at  the  hands  of 
these  savages  from  Kirin,  wife  and  family 
would  have  received  no  mercy.  The  available 
firearms  were  looked  to ;  the  cook,  boy  and 
other  natives  said,  **  Master,  if  a  fight  comes 
we  are  with  you."  Though  powerless,  this  de- 
sire to  be  faithful  was  gratifying.  Later  a 
Russian  ship  came  by,  and  some  of  the  mission- 
aries left ;  but  my  wife  refused  unless  the  hus- 
band went  too.  This  was  impossible,  as  the 
hope  of  the  terrified  natives  rested  on  the 
Christian  teacher's  remaining.  Great  was  the 
anxiety  as  the  days  passed,  and  the  Chinese 
outposts  and  scouts  came  down  to  the  very 
port  to  spy  on  us.  One  heavy  summer  night 
we  sat  together  listening  in  the  open  ve- 
randa. Was  it  to  be  the  tramp  of  soldiers  over- 
land or  search-lights  by  sea  ?  That  morning  an 
explosion  had  been  heard.  A  ball  of  fire  was 
seen  coming  from  the  north,  moving  toward 
the  centre  of  the  harbor,  and  there  it  exploded. 
We  had  heard  the  report  which  the  natives  re- 
garded with  fear.  As  we  sat  looking  out  sea- 
ward, one  faint  light  was  seen  toward  Port- 
Lazareff.  It  was  stationary  and  I  guessed  that 
a  native  fisherman  had  lighted  it.  There  it 
rested  for  a  half-hour  or  more,  then  it  seemed 
to  gather  motion,  and  to  turn  southeast  to- 
ward the  usual  anchorage  of  the  Chinese  fleet. 
On  it  came  till  we  discovered  by  its  rapid  mo- 


Korea's  Present  Condition         203 

tion,  that  a  ship  was  in  port.  Had  a  Chinese 
man-of-war  eluded  the  guards  and  were  we  be- 
tween the  fires,  or  was  it  a  Japanese?  The 
lights  in  the  port-town  were  extinguished,  and 
every  heart  waited.  It  was  a  Japanese  trans- 
port with  one  thousand  soldiers  on  board.  We 
were  grateful,  and  I  take  pleasure  in  recording 
here  that  we  felt  safe  in  the  hands  of  the  Jap- 
anese. They  were  less  given  to  drunkenness 
and  disorder  than  Western  soldiers,  and  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  acted  as  an  enlightened 
nation;  but  in  the  tenth  and  test  case  they 
showed  the  old  spots  of  the  leopard  with  the 
varnish  off. 

Some  ten  thousand  troops  in  all  arrived  in 
rapid  succession  by  transport,  and  moved  west 
toward  P'yong-yang.  A  few  days  later  the 
city  had  fallen,  and  dead  Chinamen  marked  the 
course  of  the  retreating  army. 

The  medical  corps  put  the  wounded  Chinese 
through  Western  forms  of  treatment,  and  red- 
cross  members  were  evident,  apparently  on 
missions  of  mercy.  These  acts  were  so  widely 
heralded  and  so  skillfully  published  in  the 
Western  world,  that  some  were  inclined  to 
question  the  genuineness  of  the  sympathy  ex- 
pressed. But  Japan  deserves  credit  for  having 
surgeons  and  nurses  abundant  and  skillful, 
showing  her  power  to  adapt  herself  to  Western 
ways  even  in  the  storm  and  stress  of  war. 


204  Korean  Sketches 

The  skill  with  which  the  Japanese  managed 
their  commissariat  and  kept  in  touch  with  the 
source  of  supply,  showed  them  indeed  a  very 
wonderful  people.  Their  bridges  they  carried, 
their  fuel,  rice,  beef  and  soy.  No  soldiers 
could  have  been  better  equipped,  even  to 
luxuries.  The  remainder  of  the  campaign  was 
one  round  of  victory  in  Manchuria,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Yalu,  at  Port  Arthur,  and  later, 
before  Wei-hai-wei.  I  asked  an  English  cap- 
tain how  they  conducted  themselves  at  the 
battle  of  the  Yalu.  *'  Their  manoeuvring  was 
splendid,"  said  he,  ''  apparently  no  better  sea- 
men afloat."  Startling  indeed  was  this  com- 
bination of  big  guns  and  little  men. 

For  weakness  and  puerile  imbecility,  commend 
all  the  world  to  China.  Brave  Admiral  Ting, 
who  fought  his  best,  had  to  commit  suicide  to 
prevent  the  disgrace  of  being  beheaded  at 
Peking.  Captain  Choy  in  command  of  the 
torpedo  boats,  was  also  on  the  condemned  list. 
It  has  been  said  that  there  are  no  lunatic 
asylums  in  the  Far  East;  but  a  glimpse  at  the 
government  in  Peking  must  convince  every  one, 
that  for  an  assemblage  of  incapables  they  are 
very  remarkable  indeed. 

Korea  was  now  firmly  in  the  grasp  of  Japan. 
The  King  was  obliged  to  proclaim  his  independ- 
ence. That  he  had  no  desire  to  do  so,  is 
evident  from  the  very  civilization  that  he  and 


Korea's  Present  Condition         205 

all  other  kings  of  Korea  prize  so  highly.  China 
to  him  was  "  TS-guk "  or  "  Chun-guk,"  the 
Great  or  Middle  Kingdom ;  while  Japan  was 
Wai-guk,  the  despised  land  of  dwarfs.  Then 
came  reforms  so  called.  Off  with  the  wide 
sleeves,  and  away  with  the  long  pipes.  They 
were  ordered  to  wear  black.  Korea  has  no 
black  dye  and  so  the  black  to  be  worn  was  to 
come  from  Japan,  all  of  which  greatly  offended 
the  natives,  and  made  them  hate  the  Japanese 
more  than  ever.  It  shows  again  Japan's  in- 
sufficiency for  the  task  on  her  hands.  This  see- 
sawing continued  from  March  till  October, 
1896.  The  Queen,  whom  all  admit  to  have 
been  a  stronger  character  than  the  King,  op- 
posed these  mock  reforms  vigorously,  deter- 
mined that  her  country  should  not  come  under 
the  dominion  of  Japan.  The  fact  too  that 
Japanese  influence  put  into  office  outlaws, 
whom  the  King  had  sentenced  to  death  years 
before,  showed  the  real  attitude  of  Japan 
toward  her  weaker  neighbor.  She  compelled 
the  King  to  pardon  Scih  Kwang  Pom  and 
others.  The  absurdity  of  putting  those  the 
King  hated  and  feared  into  his  very  presence 
as  office-bearers,  can  only  be  explained  on  the 
ground  of  the  absurdity  of  the  Oriental  mind. 
However  capable  a  sojourn  abroad  may  have 
made  these  exiles,  it  was  most  impolitic, 
noc  to  say  brutal,  for  Japan  to  coerce  Korea 


2o6  Korean  Sketches 

into  reform  through  their  hands.     The  morale 
of  the  move  was  entirely  out  of  joint. 

The  year  labored  on  till  October  8th,  1895, 
when  in  the  early  morning  we  were  awakened 
by  sounds  of  firing  in  the  direction  of  the 
palace.  Three  of  us  walked  over  to  see  what 
was  the  matter.  The  side  gate  was  open  and 
many  natives  in  dishevelled  confusion  were 
passing  out.  Two  companies  of  Japanese 
soldiers  were  also  seen  coming  from  the  in- 
terior. We  were  told  that  Hong,  general  of  the 
Korean  army,  had  been  shot  where  we  stood,  a 
half  hour  before.  We  were  ignorant  of  the 
meaning  of  this  coup  d'  etat.  The  Japanese  were 
evidently  in  full  possession  of  the  palace.  Later 
in  the  day  a  rumor  was  circulated  that  the  Queen 
had  been  murdered.  Mr.  Geo.  Heber  Jones 
and  I  were  invited  to  remain  near  the  apart- 
ments of  the  King,  with  Generals  Dye  and 
Legendre,  and  to  assist  as  we  could  in  inter- 
preting the  tragic  mystery.  The  plight  into 
which  His  Majesty  had  fallen  was  pitiful  to  be- 
hold. He  wept  for  his  Queen,  the  Japanese  he 
said  had  murdered  her.  Could  no  one  help 
him  in  this  time  of  need !  He  would  cut  off  his 
hair  and  weave  shoes  of  it  for  those  who  would 
avenge  her  death.  But  the  palace  was  close 
guarded ;  Japanese  soldiers  were  quartered  at 
the  gate;  Korean  traitors  held  the  King  a 
prisoner.     Nothing  but  a  strong  force  and  a 


Korea's  Present  Condition         207 

declaration  of  war  could  have  rescued  him. 
Russia,  England  and  America  could  only  call 
daily  and  express  such  sympathy  as  was  possible. 
Evidently  the  King's  older  brother — if  not  his 
father — was  a  traitor  too.  The  murderers  were 
arrested  and  taken  to  Japan.  They  were  tried 
and  acquitted,  and  this  again  made  the  King 
feel  more  than  ever  that  his  deadly  enemies 
were  the  wai-in  or  wo-jen.  Though  the  gov- 
ernment at  Tokyo  washed  its  hands  of  the 
affair,  it  did  not  hesitate  to  take  advantage  for 
its  own  profit  of  what  these  cutthroats  had 
done.  This  also  had  its  damaging  influence, 
not  only  on  the  Korean  mind,  but  on  the  minds 
of  others  as  well.  Not  even  a  hill  god  or  a 
kitchen  joss  could  acknowledge  such  dealings 
as  honest. 

Meanwhile  the  royal  prisoner  and  crown 
prince  eked  out  their  cheerless  existence. 
There  seemed  indeed  no  hope  of  escape.  A 
few  women's  chairs  went  daily  through  the 
gates,  but  there  was  no  exit  for  royalty. 

A  certain  fiasco  occurred  during  this  time  in 
which  American  missionaries  were  involved. 
They  were  criticised  for  having  opinions  regard- 
ing the  death  of  the  Queen  and  the  King's  pres- 
ent condition ;  it  was  claimed  that  they  were 
interfering  in  politics.  The  question  however 
was  not  one  of  politics,  but  of  common  mercy. 

The  year  1896  opened  unauspiciously  for  His 


2o8  Korean  Sketches 

Majesty  still  a  prisoner  of  those  whom  he  hated. 
There  was  a  quiet  plot  working  its  underground 
way,  and  a  loyal  heart  or  two  were  bent  on  his 
rescue.  Mr.  Yi  Pcim  Chin,  a  relative  whose  an- 
cestral seat  is  the  royal  house  of  Chon-ju,  was 
in  communication.  He  had  stood  by  the  King- 
in  other  days  when  there  was  danger.  He  had 
taken  the  Dowager  Queen  Cho,  Queen  Min 
and  the  crown  prince  and  princess  to  his  coun- 
try home  during  the  emeute  of  1884,  and  kept 
them  till  the  King  was  restored.  His  father 
led  the  way  against  the  Americans  at  Kangwha 
years  ago,  and  he  himself  carries  a  bullet  mark 
in  his  left  arm,  and  suffers  the  pains  of  a  broken 
ankle  for  his  loyalty  in  days  gone  by.  He  was 
passing  by  stealth,  closely  written  messages  that 
reached  the  King  through  the  hands  of  the 
nai-in  or  palace  maids.  They  came  and  went 
inspected  by  the  guards  as  they  passed  the 
gates.  The  cold  days  of  February  prompted 
Mr.  Yi  to  regale  the  shivering  guards  on  hot 
dishes  of  various  kinds.  They  were  feasted 
frequently,  never  suspecting  the  meaning  of  it. 
On  the  11th  of  February  the  King  stowed  his 
slight  person  into  the  back  of  a  woman's  chair, 
and  a  palace  maid  named  Pak  sat  before  him. 
The  crown  prince  was  likewise  tucked  in,  and 
slowly  they  started  for  the  gateway.  The 
guards  having  been  feasted  that  cold  morning 
were  inclined  to  be  good  to  everybody.     They 


Korea's  Present  Condition         209 

gave  only  a  hurried  glance  at  the  chair,  and 
Miss  Pak  said,  "  Please  put  down  the  front, 
why  should  you  lift  it  so  cold  a  morning?" 
*'  Pass  on,"  said  the  guard,  and  the  second  chair 
followed  likewise.  On  they  moved  to  the  foreign 
part  of  the  city,  and  an  hour  later  the  world 
read  the  telegram,  **  The  King  of  Korea  has  es- 
caped from  the  palace  and  is  in  the  Russian 
legation."  Mr.  Yi  Pom  Chin  who  had  engi- 
neered his  escape  was  made  chief  minister,  and 
the  labor  and  sorrow  and  effort  of  Japan  van- 
ished into  smoke. 

The  war  passed  like  a  cyclone  over  North 
Korea,  leaving  the  country  despoiled  of  its 
population,  its  ancestral  groves  and  tablets. 
Confucianism  binds  a  man  to  one  piece  of 
ground,  separate  him  from  that  particular  place 
and  you  have  separated  him  from  his  gods ;  so 
the  population  that  came  back  after  the  war, 
came  back  to  a  certain  degree  without  their 
deities  and  shrines.  Mr.  Moffett,  a  missionary 
of  well-deserved  fame,  was  on  the  ground,  with 
a  knowledge  of  the  language  and  a  burning 
desire  to  have  the  people  see  Christ  as  Saviour, 
and  the  result  has  been  that  multitudes  have 
come  and  a  great  revival  has  spread  over  the 
land.  We  trust  that  through  much  of  the 
North  the  idols  are  gone  never  to  be  replaced. 

We  believe  that  now  is  a  special  time  to 
bring  the  gospel  to  these  people,  for  remarkable 


210  Korean  Sketches 

changes  are  taking  place  in  their  material  world. 
It  is  well  known  to  every  one  acquainted  with 
Korea  that  the  ordinary  native  dress  is  white 
cotton.  It  is  the  most  extravagant  and,  withal, 
useless  garb  that  one  could  imagine  for  a  land 
subject  to  extremes  of  temperature,  as  this 
peninsula  is ;  but  it  is  a  dress  that  carries  in 
every  fold  ancestral  associations,  and  has  come 
to  be  thought  the  most  dignified  and  becoming 
outfit  in  the  world.  Cotton  therefore  is  in  de- 
mand in  Korea,  as  woolen  goods  are  at  home, 
and  the  weaving  of  this  is  the  most  important 
calling  in  Korea,  giving  employment  to  a  large 
percentage  of  the  people.  The  ports  are 
opened,  and  in  come  bales  of  foreign  cotton, 
cheaper  than  the  natives  can  manufacture ;  na- 
tive weaving  is  compelled  to  give  way,  as  pur- 
chasers North  and  South  find  it  more  to  their 
taste  and  pocket  to  dress  in  Western  goods. 

Work  in  metal  is  on  the  decrease  as  well, 
quantities  being  shipped  in  from  Japan  for  the 
manufacture  of  pipes — articles  as  common  here 
as  teaspoons  are  at  home.  Castor  beans  that 
were  grown  to  supply  oil  for  lamps  have  disap- 
peared, and  a  cheap  kind  of  kerosene  from 
Philadelphia  does  the  lighting  for  Korea.  The 
use  of  empty  kerosene  cans  has  all  but  anni- 
hilated the  water  bucket  and  crock -maker's 
trades.  Dyestuffs  are  being  crowded  out  by 
the  introduction  of  cheaper  and  more  attractive 


Korea's  Present  Condition         2 1 1 

qualities  from  Japan.  Axes,  knives,  nails  and 
in  fact  all  kinds  of  hardware  are  imported  and 
sold  cheaper  than  the  native  manufacture.  Tel- 
egraph lines  to  the  four  points  of  the  peninsula, 
while  appreciated  and  prized  by  the  foreigner, 
are  hated  by  the  native  broker  and  travelling 
merchant,  whose  profits  have  been  cut  off  by 
this  constant  communication  with  the  capital. 
Money  has  become  more  and  more  valueless. 
Rice  has  gone  up  to  five  times  its  cash  value 
since  the  opening  of  the  ports,  and  most  of  the 
articles  in  daily  use  have  quadrupled  in  the 
same  time. 

For  this  reason  the  native  ships  his  beans 
and  fish  away  in  autumn,  in  order  to  raise 
money,  thus  endangering  the  lives  of  those  de- 
pending on  him  during  the  long  winter  to  fol- 
low. 

In  this  destruction  of  the  native's  means  of 
livelihood,  no  new  calling  seems  to  have  arisen  by 
which  he  can  help  to  clothe  and  feed  his  people. 
Nothing  has  been  provided  to  fill  up  the  va- 
cancy, and  so  the  land  is  swarming  with  idlers 
and  petty  merchants,  who  make  a  doubtful  liv- 
ing in  handling  foreign  goods.  The  poverty  of 
Korea  is  extreme ;  the  manner  of  life  and  habits 
of  the  people  such  as  to  confirm  one  in  the  be- 
lief that  they  have  reached  the  lowest  condition 
possible ;  and  so  we  look  for  a  financial  change, 
which  must  of  necessity  be  for  the  better. 


212  Korean  Sketches 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  resources  of 
the  country  are  great,  but  as  they  remain  un- 
developed they  afford  no  amelioration  of  exist- 
ing conditions. 

While  China  has  continued  in  the  main  unin- 
fluenced by  Western  life,  because  of  her  indus- 
trial prosperity,  Korea's  financially  helpless 
condition  tells  how  powerfully  she  is  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  intercourse  with  other  nations. 
The  average  Korean  is  as  proud  as  any  man 
living,  yet  he  is  willing  to  adopt  almost  any  sub- 
stitute that  will  offer  a  change  and  afford  an 
exit  from  his  present  misery. 

A  host  of  political  offices  have  been  created 
within  the  last  ten  years  in  order  to  provide 
for  the  new  responsibility  of  entertaining  and 
treating  with  the  representatives  of  foreign 
countries.  This  means  an  increased  demand 
for  funds  on  the  working  classes.  The  nobility 
of  the  capital,  whose  names,  justly  or  unjustly, 
have  an  ill  savor  in  the  country,  are  already, 
through  this  foreign  influence,  fallen  into  ex- 
travagances that  the  farming  and  tax-paying 
classes  complain  of  bitterly.  It  is  the  proper 
thing  now,  especially  with  younger  officials,  to 
buy  all  that  is  possible  of  the  Western  world, 
from  steamships,  electric  lights  and  gatling 
guns,  to  watches,  clocks,  and  drawing-room 
ornaments.  This  may  seem  a  small  matter, 
yet  it  tells  heavily  on  a  people  so  impoverished. 


Korea's  Present  Condition         213 

Until  twelve  years  ago,  there  was  nothing  new 
under  the  sun  upon  which  even  unscrupulous 
nobility  could  squander  the  nation's  money ; 
now  the  doors  are  open,  and  no  one  knows  the 
limit  to  the  possibility  of  purchase.  These 
latter-day  extravagances,  together  with  the 
death  of  trade  and  manufacture,  have  brought 
the  Korean  subject  to  a  desperately  ominous 
point  in  his  history. 

It  has  been  said  by  some  careless  observers 
that  Korea  is  without  a  religious  system.  State- 
ments to  this  effect  have  appeared  so  often  in 
American  papers  that  some  reason  ought  to  be 
given  for  this  misunderstanding.  Perhaps  it  is 
because  Korea  has  no  religion  apart  from  her 
national  life— her  whole  existence,  from  king  to 
coolie,  being  one  complicated  system  of  ances- 
tor worship — that  one  may  so  easily  fail  to  no- 
tice what  enters  so  subtly  into  every  detail  of 
her  life. 

There  is  to  be  found  at  New  Year's  in  every 
household  a  spread  of  ancestral  food.  Even 
the  poorest  puts  forth  an  effort  to  make  a  lux- 
urious display  in  the  presence  of  the  spirits  of 
his  fathers.  Fruit,  rice,  meats,  distilled  drinks, 
incense,  candles,  are  some  of  the  items  on  the 
list  for  ancestral  worship.  The  natives  put  off 
their  greasy  garments  and,  dressed  immacu- 
lately, sit  out  the  night.  When  the  first  cock 
crows  the  candles  are  lighted  before  the  tablet 


214  Korean  Sketches 

— this  tablet  consisting  of  two  walnut  slabs 
fastened  together,  with  an  opening  between 
where  the  spirit  is  said  to  reside.  The  wor- 
shippers bow,  offer  drink,  and  call  on  the  shades 
to  accept  their  sacrifice.  Then  when  each  in 
turn  has  made  his  salutation,  they  retire  from 
the  room  and  lock  the  door  in  order  that  the 
spirits  may  inhale  the  offering  unembarrassed 
by  the  presence  of  the  living.  Again  they  circle 
about  and  bow  repeatedly  until  the  end,  when 
they  set  to  and  feast  on  what  the  spirit  leaves 
— a  dinner  that  is  supposed  to  bring  them 
earthly  prosperity,  but  which  to  all  appearances 
leaves  them  disordered  in  stomach  and  poorer 
in  pocket  for  many  days  to  come. 

New  Year's  is  the  sacrificial  season,  but  it  by 
no  means  includes  all.  For  three  years  after 
the  death  of  parents,  night  and  morning  the 
children  offer  food,  meat,  and  tobacco,  before 
the  tablet  in  the  room  where  the  dead  once 
lived,  making  besides,  numerous  offerings  at 
the  grave.  From  the  palace  to  the  lowest  mud 
hut  the  three  years  of  mourning  and  daily  sac- 
rifice are  observed  with  the  utmost  strictness. 
During  such  time  the  royal  household  is  occu- 
pied entirely  with  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  be- 
lieving that  the  prosperity  of  their  dynasty 
hangs  upon  such  worship.  In  the  case  of  poor 
people,  they  briiig  their  food  and,  staff  in  hand, 
with  loud  lamentations,  spread  it   out   before 


Korea's  Present  Condition         215 

their  father's  ghost.  After  this  period  they 
limit  the  direct  sacrifices  to  about  six  impor- 
tant days  in  the  year — the  four  national  fete 
days,  and  the  anniversaries  of  birth  and  death. 
A  native  absent  from  his  ancestral  home,  will 
walk  from  the  farthest  end  of  the  peninsula, 
if  necessary,  to  be  at  the  grave  at  the  appointed 
day.  Such  devoutness  in  religious  service  I 
have  never  seen  even  among  the  strictest  Ro- 
manists, nor  have  I  read  of  anything  surpassing 
it  among  Mohammedans  or  Hindus. 

As  for  the  universality  of  these  sacrifices  I 
have  never  heard  of  any  failure  except  among 
the  handful  of  Buddhists  and  the  few  profess- 
ing Christians.  To  neglect  this  is  to  make  one- 
self an  outlaw  in  the  land  of  one's  fathers — 
"  dogs  that  ought  not  to  live."  A  native  called 
Kim  went,  according  to  custom,  to  pay  his  re- 
spects to  an  elder  relative.  The  first  greeting  was, 
'*  You  have  failed  of  late  to  sacrifice  !  "  "  Yes,'* 
says  Kim,  "  I  cannot  sacrifice  again."  "  Then 
away  with  you ;  no  relative  of  mine ;  a  repro- 
bate, that  would  mix  with  the  dogs  and  forget 
his  fathers."  It  is  quite  as  much  as  a  man's 
life  is  worth  to  neglect  this  sacred  custom. 

The  time  between  sacrificial  ceremonies  is 
taken  up  with  searching  the  hills  for  a  propi- 
tious site  for  burial.  In  this  choice  there  are 
many  points  to  be  taken  into  consideration.  So 
complicated  and  mixed  are  the  methods  em- 


2i6  Korean  Sketches 

ployed  for  arriving  at  a  proper  conclusion,  that 
a  large  number  of  people  make  it  a  special 
study  and  gain  their  living  as  experts  in  ge- 
omancy.  A  grave  is  chosen  on  a  mountain 
front  if  possible,  having  two  arm-like  ridges  ou 
either  hand,  one  called  the  dragon  side  and  one 
the  tiger.  There  should  be  a  mountain  directly 
in  the  foreground  called  the  an-san,  to  stand  as 
a  support  to  the  family  of  the  dead,  otherwise 
the  grave-luck  would  flow  down  the  valley  and 
be  dissipated.  There  must  be  free  exit  for 
streams  or  surface  waters.  This  is  the  grave 
site  in  outline.  Then  come  the  special  moun- 
tain peaks  that  are  looked  for  on  either  side  of 
the  an-san.  One  will  mean  long  life  to  the 
family,  another  numerous  posterity,  another 
rank,  another  wealth.  Every  mountain  peak 
to  right  or  left  hand  has  its  special  message, 
which  the  geomancer  holds  in  his  professional 
grasp. 

After  burial  the  native  watches,  as  a  matter 
of  vital  moment,  to  see  that  no  one  encroaches 
on,  or  interferes  with,  bis  ancestral  graves.  If 
it  becomes  a  choice  between  feeding  or  clothing 
the  living  and  making  some  outlay  for  this  rest- 
ing place  of  the  dead,  he  will  decide  in  a  breath 
in  favor  of  the  latter.  Should  a  household  meet 
with  repeated  disaster,  they  exhume  their  an- 
cestors' bones  and  bury  them  elsewhere,  think- 
ing thus  to  conciliate  the  spirits.     From  the 


Korea's  Present  Condition         217 

idea  of  certain  localities  being  possessed,  has 
grown  the  belief  that  there  are  spirits  in  every 
mound,  rock,  and  tree.  Also,  from  the  years  of 
sacrifice  in  the  home,  comes  the  idea  of  a  guar- 
dian spirit,  which  is  worshipped  by  food,  prayer, 
and  characters  posted  on  the  walls.  A  species 
of  venomous  snake  so  commonly  makes  its 
home  under  the  tiles,  and  is  seen  winding  in 
and  about  the  roofs  of  Korean  huts,  that  they 
have  associated  with  him  this  guardianship, 
and  one  of  the  commonest  kinds  of  worship  is 
prayer  and  offering  to  the  serpent.  To  this  has 
been  added  a  host  of  other  spirits,  such  as  the 
guardian  dragon,  which  they  worship  by  drop- 
ping food  into  the  well,  his  supposed  retreat. 
In  this  guardianship  they  include  weasels,  swine, 
and  unclean  animals  of  every  kind,  giving  to 
each  so  many  days  in  the  year,  thus  making  a 
constant  round  of  religious  ceremony. 

Some  interested  in  Korea  have  thought  that 
there  are  two  religions:  one  cultured  and  re- 
fined, and  understood  to  be  ancestor  worship ; 
the  other  heathenish  throughout,  the  lowest 
form  of  fetichism.  Koreans  themselves  how- 
ever make  no  distinction;  they  call  it  all 
kwisin  worship,  and  kwisin  is  a  word  that  is 
translated  "demon"  in  the  Chinese  and  Korean 
New  Testament.  They  themselves  claim  that 
their  worship  is  all  of  one  origin,  which  agrees 
exactly  with  1.  Cor.  x :  20,  "But  I  say  that  the 


2i8  Korean  Sketches 

things  which  the  Gentiles  sacrifice  they  sacrifice 
to  demons  and  not  to  God." 

The  land  is  dotted  over  with  little  temples, 
reared  in  honor  of  those  who  have  been  faithful 
to  their  parents,  more  especially  after  the  par- 
ents' death.  Near  my  present  home,  there  is  a 
tablet,  erected  some  hundred  and  fifteen  years 
ago,  with  this  inscription,  "  Kim  Ik  Pin,  a  faith- 
ful son  lost  his  father  at  ten  years  of  age.  His 
mourning  was  like  the  mourning  of  a  man ;  his 
flesh  wasted  away,  and  his  bones  alone  remained. 
At  seventeen,  when  the  season  of  sacrifice  came 
round,  and  there  was  no  fish  to  be  had  because 
of  the  summer  rains,  he  went  out  and  prayed 
by  the  seashore,  weeping  in  agony,  when  lo !  a 
fish  from  the  water  came  falling  at  his  feet. 
Again  we  see  his  devotion,  for  when  fires  had 
surrounded  the  mountains,  threatening  to  en- 
velope his  father's  grave  and  burn  his  spirit,  in 
he  rushed  at  the  risk  of  life,  praying  the  gods 
to  spare  his  ancestor's  resting  place  ;  and  down 
came  the  rainy  season's  floods  and  quenched 
the  fire.     Was  he  not  a  faithful  son  !  " 

Books  used  everywhere  in  schools,  and  taught 
the  children,  deal  exclusively  with  the  subject 
of  sacrifice  to  King,  parents,  elder  brothers, 
etc.  I  give  here  a  translation  of  a  story  from 
"  The  Five  Social  Virtues  " — a  book  known  to 
every  one  in  Korea  who  has  passed  his  primer. 
"  During  the  Han  dynasty,  there  lived  a  mai^ 


Korea's  Present  Condition         219 

called  Toiig  Yong,  a  citizen  of  Chbng  song  dis- 
trict. His  father  died,  and  Yong  having  no 
means  of  giving  him  honorable  burial  borrowed 
ten  thousand  cash,  agreeing  to  pay  the  debt  in 
money  or  give  himself  as  bond  slave.  Return- 
ing from  the  funeral,  he  was  on  his  way  to 
slavery,  when  suddenly  there  appeared  before 
him  a  queenly  lad}^  who  requested  him  to  take 
her  for  his  wife.  Yong,  amazed,  answered,  *  I, 
so  poor  that  I  am  even  now  on  my  way  to  bond 
service,  why  do  you  ask  to  become  my  wife  ? ' 
The  lady  replied,  *  I  wish  to  be  your  wife,  that  is 
enough ;  your  poverty  and  humble  station  give 
me  no  cause  for  shame.'  Thus  urged,  he  took 
her  with  him,  and  the  debt- master  asked  if  she 
understood  any  kind  of  handiwork.  *I  can 
weave,'  she  answered.  *  Then,' he  replied,  *  if 
you  will  weave  me  three  hundred  bales  of  silk, 
I'll  give  you  both  freedom.'  This  amount  he 
knew  to  be  more  than  the  work  of  a  lifetime. 
Within  a  month  the  three  hundred  bales  were 
finished,  and  the  master  in  fear,  sent  them 
quickly  away.  As  they  passed  the  spot  again 
which  had  seen  their  first  meeting,  she  said  to 
Yong,  'I  must  leave  you  now;  for  I  am  a 
woman  come  from  the  Weaver's  Star.  Heaven 
saw  your  filial  piety,  and  being  moved  with 
love,  sent  me  to  pay  your  debt.'  Thus  speak- 
ing she  ascended  into  heaven." 

It  is  the  teaching  of  Confucius  interpreted 


220  Korean  Sketches 

and  added  to.  The  object  of  it  all  is  to  teach 
earthly  prosperity  as  the  reward  of  faithfulness. 
There  has  never  been  a  time  that  so  strongly 
proves  this  system  a  failure  in  this  regard  as 
the  present,  and  yet  they  still  continue  to 
worship.  Hither  have  their  ancestral  gods 
brought  them,  in  spite  of  prayers  and  cere- 
mony. The  land  destitute  of  spiritual  life  as  of 
earthly  prosperity,  is  unconsciously  holding  out 
her  hands  for  help  just  now.  May  her  mute 
appeal  arouse  our  tenderest  sympathy  ! 

His  Excellency  Mr.  Yi  Pcim  Chin,  the  present 
Minister  of  Korea  to  the  United  States,  told  me 
on  March  3d,  1898,  that  there  were  ten  reforms 
he  deemed  necessary  for  his  country,  and  that 
I  might  make  them  public  with  his  name. 

No.  1.  The  education  of  the  great  n^ss  of 
the  people  hitherto  left  in  ignorance  and  su- 
perstitiou. 

No.  2.  The  encouragement  of  manufactures. 
People  are  forbidden  to  make  anything  their 
fathers  knew  not  of.  Western  manufacture 
will  break  down  prejudice. 

No.  3.  The  training  of  an  army.  Korea 
cannot  expect  to  compete  with  the  outside 
world  in  military  art,  but  she  needs  forces  to 
preserve  order. 

No.  4.  The  abolition  of  sinecures.  Offices 
fill  the   country  that  are  of  no  service  but  to 


Korea's  Present  Condition         221 

draw  salary.     Away  with  them  for  the  fourth 
reform  ! 

No.  5.  The  abolition  of  the  present  class 
gentry.  That  only  those  in  office  be  regarded 
as  superiors,  and  their  children  enrolled  simply 
as  the  common  people. 

No.  6.  The  granting  of  power  according  to 
office.  "  At  present,"  says  Mr.  Yi,  "  officials 
are  officials  in  name  only.  The  very  dutiesi 
they  are  assigned  to,  are  at  the  disposal  of 
others  above  them,  which  virtually  nullifies  the 
office  itself." 

No.  7.  The  teachmg  of  Korea  Western 
knowledge  by  nations  specially  qualified,  viz : 
Germany  for  the  army,  England  for  the  navy 
and  finance,  America  for  steam  and  electricity, 
Russia  for  cavalry  drill,  Japan  for  police,  and 
China  for  silk  manufacture. 

No.  8.  Governmental  reform  on  the  basis  of 
English  and  German  law. 

No.  9.  The  prohibition  of  white  as  the  or- 
dinary dress. 

No.  10.  The  abolition  of  Chinese  literature 
and  the  establishment  of  Unmun  as  the  national 
script. 


XII 

SOME    SPECIAL  FRIENDS 

H.  H,  Prince  Eui  Wha,  It  was  my  privilege 
while  in  Japan,  to  meet  frequently  with  Prince 
Eui  Wha,  the  second  son  of  His  Majesty,  the 
Emperor  of  Korea.  He  had  come  in  the  autumn 
of  1895  on  a  special  message  from  his  govern- 
ment, and  had  remained  since  that  time.  It  was 
the  first  occasion  in  the  history  of  Korea  when 
a  prince  of  the  imperial  family  had  gone  abroad, 
and  his  impressions  of  foreign  life  were  to  me  a 
matter  of  very  great  interest.  He  lived  for  a 
few  months  in  Koyama,  in  the  city  of  Tokyo, 
surrounded  by  a  number  of  his  fellow  country- 
men. Many  of  these  being  personally  inter- 
ested in  political  movements  in  Korea,  an  at- 
mosphere was  created  which  was  distasteful  to 
him,  so  he  moved  away  during  the  summer  of 
1896  to  keep  himself  free  from  even  the  appear- 
ance of  political  entanglement. 

He  had  learned,  seemingly  by  intuition,  to 
dress  as  a  foreigner  of  good  taste,  a  rare  excep- 
tion in  Japan,  with  its  pot  hats,  white  cotton 
gloves,  and  spare  suits. 

Frequently  during  the  summer  he  made  his 
way  to  Yokohama,  and  began  study  in  prepa- 
222 


w 


X     5 
Dh      en 


Some  Special  Friends  223 

ration  for  a  journey  to  America.  One  of  our 
trips  taken  together  in  company  with  Mr. 
Loomis  (a  constant  friend  and  benefactor  to 
Koreans)  was  to  "  Great  Hell,"  a  burning  hill 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Hakone.  While  Korea 
shows  signs  of  volcanic  formation,  the  fires  have 
long  since  become  quiescent,  so  that  an  active 
volcano  was  of  interest  to  the  Prince.  We 
came  through  a  clump  of  trees  into  the  region 
of  fire,  and  found  vegetation,  that  a  year  or  two 
before  had  been  green  and  luxuriant,  cooked 
and  dry.  Our  pathway  led  directly  across  this 
heated  region.  By  driving  a  stick  a  foot  or 
two  into  the  ground  and  withdrawing  it,  a 
steam  pipe  resulted  that  would  scald  the  passer 
if  he  came  near  it.  We  stood  at  last  on  the 
central  part  of  the  crater,  the  Prince  being  per- 
fectly cool  and  collected  as  he  picked  his  way 
over  the  dangerous  ground.  Here  we  were 
within  the  precincts  of  this  great  power-house, 
that  labored  and  shook,  giving  furious  vent  to 
its  pressure  through  the  openings  round  about. 
The  Prince  was  particularly  interested  in  a 
chasm,  into  which  a  foreigner  was  said  to  have 
fallen  and  lost  his  life  a  year  or  two  before.  He 
joined  us  in  rolling  boulders  into  it  to  hear  the 
dull  thud  in  the  bottom  of  the  "hell"  far 
underneath.  It  was  a  trip  that  showed  us 
Prince  Eui  Wha's  coolness  and  courage  and 
powers  of  endurance. 


224  Korean  Sketches 

In  the  evening  we  dined  at  a  hotel  where 
other  foreigners  were  present — loud  talking 
women,  and  men  who  smoked  with  heads  back 
and  feet  up  in  the  air.  The  Prince  observed 
that  there  were  no  special  marks  of  civilization 
on  the  foreigners  who  frequented  that  hotel. 
Some  time  later  we  attended  a  concert  given  by 
the  Choral  and  Philharmonic  Societies  of  Yoko- 
hama, and  the  whole  programme  was  of  great  in- 
terest. The  Prince  enjoyed  the  music  though  it 
was  still  a  foreign  language  to  him.  His  only  ad- 
verse criticism  reminded  me  of  a  story  of 
President  Lincoln,  who  remarked  of  one  of  Mrs. 
Lincoln's  evening  dresses,  that  it  would  look 
better  with  a  piece  of  the  tail  cut  off  and  put 
round  the  neck.  Oriental  civilization  is  quite 
as  much  characterized  by  common  sense  and 
good  judgment  as  is  our  own. 

The  Prince  learned  while  in  Japan  to  ride  a 
wheel,  and  after  an  hour  or  so  of  study  each 
day,  we  would  have  a  run  over  the  drives 
about  Yokohama.  The  Japanese  policeman 
who  accompanied  him  in  a  'riksha,  would  have 
to  be  reinforced  two  or  three  times  in  order  to 
keep  within  sight  of  the  wheel.  It  was  one  of 
the  pleasures  the  Prince  enjoyed  in  his  quiet 
way,  to  see  how  many  knots  an  hour  he  could 
get  out  of  'riksha  coolies. 

I  have  also  seen  much  of  the  Prince  during 
his  stay  in  America,  and  have  accompanied  him 


Some  Special  Friends  225 

frequently  through  the  turmoil  of  these  great 
cities.  American  life  to  him  is  unlovely  and 
associated  with  much  unpleasantness.  This  is 
not  due  to  lack  of  courtesy  in  the  American 
people,  but  to  antagonistic  parties  at  home  who 
have  succeeded  in  leaving  him  stranded.  His 
condition  of  humiliation  has  proven  more  clearly 
than  prosperity  could,  the  high-bred  aristocracy 
from  which  he  is  descended.  Without  com- 
plaint or  threat,  he  has  borne  patiently  an 
exile's  life  in  a  distant  land.  I  am  convinced 
of  his  worth  apart  altogether  from  the  position 
that  comes  to  him  by  inheritance.  A  neatly 
dressed,  modest  young  man,  seen  passing  fre- 
quently along  Twelfth  Street,  Washington,  is  the 
second  son  of  the  emperor  of  Korea,  though 
his  surroundings  and  position  betoken  nothing 
imperial. 

I  have  heard  of  princes  in  disguise  that  lived 
long  ago  in  fairy  tales,  of  which  stories  a  pecul- 
iar fulfillment  is  experienced,  when  I  find  my- 
self introducing  one  as  plain  Mr.  Yi,  who  is  a 
prince  of  the  Hermit  Kingdom,  the  last  rem- 
nant of  the  fairylands  of  antiquity. 

Through  these  little  incidents  of  each  day, 
and  through  the  quiet  hours  of  study,  we  have 
learned  to  see  the  manliness,  courage  and  true 
nobility  of  this  son  of  the  emperor.  His  ideas 
of,  and  desires  for  life,  are  of  the  highest  type. 
We  trust  and  pray  that  he  may  be  so  guided, 


226  Korean  Sketches 

that  he  will  yet  be  a  blessing  to  his  country, 
and  we  take  the  liberty  of  marking  him  as  one 
of  our  special  friends,  in  whom  we  are  particu- 
larly interested,  and  for  whom  we  have  the 
highest  admiration. 

/  Bon  Quixote.  My  unfortunate  friend  Kang 
had  something  in  his  face  and  manner  that  re- 
minded me  of  the  name  by  which  I  head  this 
paragraph.  So  I  learned  to  think  of  him, 
and  so  I  always  called  him.  One  of  his  first 
remarks  to  me  was  that  we  were  near  the  last 
days,  and  that  it  was  about  all  up  with  the 
Land  of  Morning  Calm.  I  first  met  Don 
Quixote  in  a  Buddhist  temple  down  south. 
Our  friendship  grew  rapidly,  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  sent  me  three  live  hens  and  fifty  eggs. 
I  would  have  appreciated  the  gift  more  had  not 
those  hens  been  so  hard  to  entertain.  My  boy, 
in  a  murderous  way,  managed  to  tether  them 
by  strings  in  a  corner  of  the  yard.  While  they 
lived,  their  lives  were  a  confused  struggle ;  and 
when  they  died,  their  cries  threw  a  shadow 
over  my  soul.  I  felt  at  the  time  as  though  it 
argued  unfavorably  for  my  friendship  with 
the  Don. 

The  old  man  told  me  that  he  was  proprietor 
of  a  steamship  he  had  bought  from  a  Japanese 
pirate.  I  had  heard  a  shrill  whistling  along  the 
coast  a  few  days  before,   which  was  thus  ex- 


Some  Special  Friends  227 

plained.  The  steamer  was  about  the  size  of  a 
canal-tug,  with  a  long  slim  smokestack  above 
deck,  and  a  short  thick-set  Japanese  below,  who 
was  in  charge  of  the  engine.  She  scarcely- 
looked  seaworthy,  so  I  asked  the  Don  how  far 
he  had  been  in  his  ship.  Said  he  *'  What's  that 
big  port  in  Mi-guk?"  (America).  "  San  Fran- 
cisco?" I  asked.  "So,  so,"  says  he,  **  Sang 
Prisko.  I've  been  to  Sang  Prisko."  The  Don 
is  older  than  I,  so  it  was  not  proper  for  me  to 
contradict  or  to  tell  him  that  he  must  be  mis- 
taken, that  he  and  his  matchbox  would  have 
been  down  with  Davy  Jones  long  before  they 
reached  "  Sang  Prisko." 

The  Don  often  came  to  see  me,  drank  tea 
and  smoked  his  long  pipe.  One  day  he  be- 
gan conversation  in  this  way  "  Brother,  you  are 
known  all  over  the  world,  and  so  am  I."  "  No  I 
no  !  "  I  said,  "  Pm  not  known  at  all  except  to 
one  or  two  old  friends  who  have  not  forgotten 
me."  He  would  not  believe  this,  and  went  on 
to  say  that  he  had  two  proposals  to  make  and 
would  come  the  next  day  to  lay  them  before 
me.  The  next  day  came  and  the  Don  like- 
wise, aglow  with  his  proposals.  Said  he,  "  One 
is  this,  that  you  come  with  me  and  be  manager 
of  my  ship,  and  we  will  be  traders ;  and  seeing 
that  the  world  knows  us  she  will  give  us  what 
we  ask."  I  thanked  him  but  said  that  I  was  not 
a  navigator,  so  could  never  run  his  ship ;  that 


228  Korean  Sketches 

it  took  all  the  skill  I  had  to  steer  my  way  on 
land.  He  seemed  very  much  cut  up,  and  said 
that  I  was  not  unable  but  unwilling.  Then  he 
came  with  his  second  proposal,  took  hold  of 
my  hand  and  spoke  in  a  whisper.  "  I'll  take  a 
knife  and  open  a  vein  in  my  wrist,  and  you 
open  one  in  yours.  We'll  mix  the  blood  and 
be  one  forever.  If  you  die,  I'll  die  with  you, 
and  if  I  die,  you'll  die  with  me."  "  Yes !  let  me 
see,  I'm  afraid  I  can't  do  that  either."  "  Why  ?  " 
he  asked.  "  That  might  not  be  best,  I  might 
give  you  bad  blood  out  of  my  veins."  "  I'll 
risk  it,"  said  the  Don.  I  reasoned  with  him, 
and  asked  if  we  could  not  be  friends  without 
this.  After  a  long  talk  he  concluded  that  it 
was  not  possible,  wrote  with  his  finger  the  char- 
acter "shin, "  meaning  "trust,"  which  along  with 
a  shake  of  the  head,  meant  there  was  no  faith 
without  the  blood,  and  so  we  parted. 

Months  passed.  I  moved  back  to  the  capital 
and  took  up  my  home  in  a  little  Korean  room 
in  a  crowded  part  of  the  city.  One  evening, 
in  the  dusk,  returning  by  the  great  South  Gate- 
way, I  heard  some  one  call  from  the  crowd 
"  Keui-li !  Keui-li !  "  I  turned  and  it  was  Don 
Quixote — poor  old  Don  !  He  looked  hard  up, 
his  face  more  cadaverous  than  ever,  his  coat 
faded  and  soiled.  I  asked,  with  surprise, 
"  Why,  how  do  you  happen  to  be  here  ?  Is  it 
peace  ? "     "  Peace,"   he  replied,  and  then  said 


Some  Special  Friends  229 

he  had  lost  his  ship,  was  out  of  money,  cold 
and  nearly  starving.  Would  he  not  come  round 
and  have  something  to  eat  ?  He  said  "  Not  now, 
some  other  day,"  and  disappeared.  Filled  with 
sadness  I  returned,  leaving  him  to  wend  his  un- 
certain way  "whitherward" — which  way  it 
seems  was  to  the  Hyong-jo  or  national  prison 
where,  under  the  shadow  of  the  sabre,  and 
awaiting  his  sentence  for  debt,  and  I  know  not 
what  all,  Don  Quixote  disappeared  from  view. 
There  I  had  to  leave  him  to  rough  through 
alone  what  remained  of  life.  The  bastinado,  or 
what  is  often  preferred  to  it,  the  turf  outside 
the  East  Gate  with  its  sword  and  executioner, 
are  old,  old  stories  in  Choson.  Multitudes  have 
marched  by  way  of  these  to  the  eternity  that 
awaits  us  all.  Fare  thee  well !  poor  old  Don  ! 
a  longer  journey  it  was  than  across  the  sea  to 
Mi-guk.  He  thought  to  fight  great  armies  sin- 
gle-handed and  he  failed. 

Old  Kim.  We  had  gone  northeast  to  plant 
a  Christian  mission  on  the  coast  of  Korea.  We 
found  a  house,  and  then  announced  to  this 
strange  people  the  object  of  our  coming.  On 
the  first  day  of  meeting  the  room  was  filled, 
and  in  the  farthest  corner  sat  a  little  oldish 
man,  with  face  afire,  listening  while  I  read.  At 
the  close  he  stood  and  made  an  address  of  his 
own.     **  This  doctrine,"  said  he,  "  tells  a  man 


230  Korean  Sketches 

to  hate  his  father  and  mother,  and  marry  his 
brother's  wife.  Wrong  ?  Of  course !  Away 
with  it !  Everybody  knows  it  is  wrong/'  and 
he  left  indignant.  But  he  came  again,  and  the 
fiery  face  grew  pinched  with  listening.  He 
drank  in  the  words :  "  Rest  for  the  wanderer  ; 
bread  for  the  hungry;  all  who  are  troubled, 
come  I  And  the  man  that  was  dead  heard  His 
voice ;  and  the  poor  outcast  woman  found  that 
He  cared  for  her ;  and  the  thief,  who  deserved 
to  die,  was  taken  home  to  heaven ;  and  He 
Himself  suffered  with  His  hands  nailed  through 
and  His  feet  torn  and  His  garments  bedraggled 
with  blood."  The  tears  had  come,  and  old  Kim 
was  on  his  feet.  With  tenderness  in  his  voice 
he  told  the  people  that  he  did  not  know  how  or 
why,  but  the  story  of  Jesus  was  for  him.  He 
trusted  that  his  heart  was  at  peace  with  God, 
the  first  time  in  fifty  years.  There  was  a  great 
consternation  among  the  people.  Kim's  face 
was  changed,  the  look  of  woe  was  gone  and  an 
expression  of  peace  was  written  upon  it.  He 
went  to  the  elders  of  the  village  and  told  them 
what  had  been  done  for  him.  They  were  all 
upset,  and  the  town  was  in  confusion,  for  Kim 
prayed  so  loud  at  night  that  he  terrified  the 
people.  They  in  turn  offered  sacrifice,  and 
cried  to  their  gods  to  save  the  town  from  the 
spirit  that  had  entered  it.  One  bolder  than 
others,  defied  God,  threatened  Kim,  and  bias- 


Some  Special  Friends  231 

phemed  in  his  poor,  ignorant  way,  and  then  left 
for  his  home  underneath  the  hills.  But  a  great 
rain  came,  and  a  part  of  the  hill  slid  off  and 
buried  the  man ;  then  Kim  prayed  that  God 
would  save  the  people  and  stop  the  landslides. 
Gradually  from  a  wicked  man,  Kim  became 
what  all  the  townsfolk  called  a  good  man,  though 
a  little  crazy,  and  they  nicknamed  him  ChUm 
Yung  Kam  (Little  Old  Man).  Little  he  was  in 
the  eyes  of  his  countrymen,  and  older  than  his 
age,  for  he  lived  not  here,  but  beyond  the  eter- 
nities in  the  life  to  come. 

Only  a  year  remained,  and  it  was  a  hard  year 
of  suffering.  "  Once,"  said  he,  **  I  was  cutting 
grass  for  fuel,  and  the  weariness  was  so  great 
that  I  knelt  down  among  the  reeds  to  tell  Him 
of  it;  then  He  gave  me  such  peace  and  such 
indescribable  delight.  Oh  !  If  the  people  only 
knew  it,  they  would  all  believe  in  Him."  But 
we  had  no  suitable  meeting  house  in  which  the 
people  could  gather  to  hear,  and  the  times  were 
very  hard.  I  told  Kim  I  feared  it  was  out  of 
the  question,  but  he  rebuked  me  saying, 
"Brother!  who  runs  this  world?"  and  with 
that  he  went  to  the  end  of  the  veiaiida  and 
prayed  and  shouted  so  loud,  that  all  the  people 
in  the  town  could  hear  him.  He  wanted  a 
meeting  house  in  which  to  preach  the  good  news, 
and  he  thanked  God  for  the  promise  of  answer. 
The  meeting  house  is  built  now,  but  Kim  never 


232  Korean  Sketches 

saw  it,  for  his  body  was  already  sleeping  in  the 
dust  awaiting  the  resurrection. 

To  the  last  he  was  faithful,  and  when  life  was 
nearly  ended  and  strength  gone,  he  gave  us  who 
were  left  strength  and  encouragement.  Death 
and  resurrection  !  The  wisest  seek  in  vain  by 
wisdom  to  find  out  what  they  are,  and  have  to 
give  up  the  search  and  die  forgotten ;  while  a 
poor  old  heathen,  who  has  never  known  any- 
thing, finds  the  secret  and  dies  triumphantly. 

On  a  sunny  slope  among  the  pines,  near  his 
little  mud  cabin,  there  is  a  green  mound  that 
marks  his  grave.  We  knew  him  less  than  two 
years ;  and  after  all  he  was  only  a  poor  back- 
woods Korean,  but  his  going  meant  loneliness 
to  us  and  his  memory  brings  the  tears. 

Auntie.  Among  the  women  of  Korea,  I  have 
one  old  friend  who  sometimes  does  mending, 
and  as  the  women  have  no  name  given  them  I 
call  her  Auntie.  I  asked  Auntie  why  it  was 
they  made  such  prisoners  of  the  women.  She 
said,  "It's  custom,  you  know,  custom  (p'ung- 
sok),  and  you  can't  change  custom."  Auntie 
is  sixty-three  now,  but  she  still  wears  a  mantle 
as  she  walks  the  streets  in  remembrance  of  girl- 
hood days.  She  says,  "  I  belonged  to  the  work- 
ing class,  you  know.  When  I  was  quite  young 
a  yanghan  (nobleman)  brought  me  from  the 
country  to  be  his  slave,  and  I  never  saw  my 


Some  Special  Friends  233 

home  again.  After  some  years  I  was  married, 
but  my  husband  died  when  I  was  only  thirty- 
four,  and  since  then  I've  had  to  work  hard  to 
live."  This  is  Auntie's  history  as  she  gives  it. 
To  judge  from  the  white  hair  and  deeply  fur- 
rowed face,  I  would  say  that  if  it  were  all  told, 
it  would  be  a  longer  and  more  toilsome  history 
than  this. 

Auntie  says  she  would  not  mind  it  all,  if 
it  were  not  for  a  sickness  that  she  has  had 
these  ten  summers  now, ''  a  breathing  sickness  " 
she  calls  it ;  something  that  catches  her  at  the 
corners  of  the  breath,  and  she  adds,  '*  When 
the  breath  won't  go,  nothing  goes."  She  has 
been  to  see  the  magicians  and  medicine  men 
and  lastly  the  prophets,  but  it  is  all  in  vain. 
*'  They  are  very  wise  and  very  great,"  she  says, 
*'  but  they  can't  make  breath." 

The  Abbot  of  Sok-wang-sa. 

Um-sol-ha  is  the  abbot  of  Sok-wang-sa.  He 
is  a  man  of  ponderous  physique,  and  yet  the 
mortal  part  of  him  is  insufficient  to  lodge  the 
soul,  for  he  gasps  and  wheezes  and  pants  from 
internal  pressure.  He  is  between  seventy  and 
eighty  years  of  age,  and  so  heavy  are  all  his 
alignments,  that  his  eyes  have  scarcely  lifted 
their  lids  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Though 
a  man  of  peace,  he  has  the  voice  of  a  blood- 
hound ;  and   though  born   son  of  the  Buddha, 


234 


Korean  Sketches 


he  has  the  expression  and  countenance  of  an 
eighty-ton  gun.  Mass,  weight,  and  volcanic 
pressure  attend  him  in  this  life ;  while  a  nir- 
vana of  material  nothingness  awaits  him  in  the 
world  to  come. 

Once  after  twenty  miles  across  the  plains, 
hot  and  malarial  with  rice  fields,  we  entered 
the  shady  avenues  of  the  monastery,  and  passed 
the  gateway  into  the  outer  guest  chamber. 
Priests  and  monks  welcomed  us,  and  a  moment 
later  the  abbot  himself  squeezed  his  way 
through  the  narrow  door,  and  in  a  voice  of  dis- 
tant thunder  said,  *'  Peace  ! "  He  lifted  his 
eyes,  and  looked  long  and  inquiringly  at  the 
strangers.  Could  our  honorable  stomachs,  he 
asked,  tolerate  the  fare  of  his  humble  abbey  ? 
We  replied  that  our  depraved  digestion  would 
be  delighted  to  refresh  itself  on  the  viands  of 
His  Holiness'  table;  and  thus  the  necessary 
formalities  being  completed,  we  were  left  to 
converse  freely.  The  doctrine  we  brought  was 
of  special  interest.  Was  it  like  that  of  Buddha  ? 
And  did  we  pray  in  Sanscrit  and  Pali,  "  Suri 
suri  su  suri  saha^''  just  as  he  did,  and  they  did 
in  China  and  Anam  and  India  ?  He  called  the 
monks  in  to  hear  what  we  had  to  say,  and  main- 
tained that  a  doctrine  so  simple  and  plain  as 
ours  ought  to  do  every  one  good.  We  were  in- 
terrupted by  the  piping  of  a  mosquito  that 
circled   about,   seeking   some   one   to    devour. 


BUDDHIST    MONKS. 


BUDDHIST    PAGODA. 


Some  Special  Friends  235 

The  abbot  motioned  to  a  monk  not  to  kill  it, 
but  to  shoo  it  from  the  room,  as  you  would  a 
chicken,  careful  to  take  no  life  for  the  glory 
of  the  Buddha. 

Our  evening  meal  of  rice,  pressed  seaweed, 
and  roots  was  over,  and  then  we  sat  and  read 
from  the  Gospel  till  late  into  the  night ;  all  the 
monks  listening,  questioning  and  repeating,  till 
the  abbot  reminded  us  that  it  was  late  and  they 
must  let  us  rest  from  our  journey.  He  pointed 
me  to  an  inscription  on  the  wall,  a  charm  he 
said  against  biters,  bugs,  and  unclean  insects  of 
every  kind,  so,  "rest  ye  in  peace.'* 

It  was  after  midnight,  and  I  had  just  dozed 
off  when  the  drums  of  the  monastery,  big  and 
little,  awoke,  each  answering  to  the  other,  slow 
and  loud  at  first,  but  with  dwindled  flutterings 
at  the  end.  Then  all  the  monks  began  in  con- 
sonance of  prayer :  "  Namu  Amit'ahul!  Namu 
Amit'ahul !  "  (I  put  my  trust  in  Buddha !  I  put 
my  trust  in  Buddha!).  I  looked  through  the 
chink  of  the  doorway,  and  there  they  were  with 
faces  to  the  stone  floor,  repeating  with  all  the 
"go  "  of  a  steam  praying-wheel,  faster  and  faster, 
"I  believe  in  Buddha,  I  believe  in  Buddha"—- 
while  the  brass -faced  god  leered  at  its  worship- 
pers in  the  dim  monastic  twilight.  Through 
the  sounds  of  worship  came  the  rich  sonorous 
voice  of  the  chief  of  all  the  monastery,  "  I  be- 
lieve in  Buddha,  I  believe  in  Buddha."    Seventy 


236  Korean  Sketches 

years  of  searchings  had  brought  him  no  an- 
swer, nothing  but  the  leering  face  of  his  loudly 
painted  god.  Then  the  worship  ended  with 
bells  of  different  tones,  soft  and  silvery,  and 
once  more  gods  and  men  slept. 

A  week  after  my  return  home,  two  monks 
came  with  a  present  of  wooden  bowls  from  the 
abbot — bowls  that  he  himself  had  used  on  his 
table  for  years — and  would  I  accept  them  in 
remembrance  of  an  old  priest  whose  soul  was 
soon  to  transmigrate?  He  also  wished  the 
monks  to  stay  and  learn  of  the  Jesus  Buddha, 
whom  I  had  said  was  greater  than  Sokamoni. 

But  a  question  came  into  the  abbot's  life. 
One  day  a  Westerner,  who  claimed  to  be  a  fol- 
lower of  Jesus,  alighted  at  the  monastery, 
brass-faced  and  iron-fisted.  He  poked  the 
Buddha  with  a  club,  told  all  the  monks  that 
they  were  destined  to  outer  darkness,  and  when 
the  grey-haired  abbot  sat  by  dignified  and  re- 
spectful, caught  him  by  the  back  of  the  neck, 
and  chucking  his  head  to  the  floor  said,  "  Bow 
to  the  image,  you  old  heathen,  bow  1  "  In  the 
abbot's  mind  Sokamoni  was  after  all  more  to  be 
desired  than  this  Jesus  Buddha. 

On  a  hot  sultry  day,  with  staff  in  hand,  the 
abbot  walked  twenty  miles  to  pay  me  a  call  and 
inquire  concerning  these  things.  He  admitted 
that  his  Buddha  had  not  answered  the  ques- 
tionings of  his  heart.  There  was  still  a  dark 
interrogation  mark  on  his  soul.     But  he  said 


Some  Special  Friends  237 

that  sometimes  he  almost  arrived  at  peace, 
when  he  beat  the  drums,  rang  the  bells,  and 
said  one  hundred  and  eight  times,  "  I  believe  in 
Buddha,  I  believe  in  Buddha."  And  how- 
could  Jesus  be  good;  for  there  was  this  man 
with  the  club  and  the  iron  fist?  I  told  him 
that  Jesus  could  satisfy ;  that  the  mischief  was 
with  us,  His  followers,  not  with  Him.  The  ab- 
bot's eyes  are  not  large,  but  they  have  seen  into 
life  for  a  space  of  seventy  years,  and  they  are 
not  to  be  deceived  by  a  sham  of  godliness. 

One  request  he  had,  would  I  show  him  the 
house  we  lived  in  ;  and  my  wife  and  family  be- 
ing absent,  I  took  him  through  alone.  The 
pictures  on  the  walls — did  we  worship  them  ? 
A  small  harmonium  he  thought  would  be  an 
admirable  charm  to  wake  the  Buddha.  And 
then  the  books  with  the  strange  letters  written 
in  them — and  a  mirror  or  two — and  the  beauti- 
ful glass  windows — and  such  fine  dishes  we  ate 
out  of — and  chairs  and  curtains — all  beautiful 
as  nirvana.  When  we  were  through,  I  asked  the 
abbot  what  he  would  like  best  of  all  he  saw. 
**  Preserve  me  from  covetousness,"  said  he,  "  but 
the  glass  dish  in  the  *  wall  box,'  with  the  crystal 
cover  and  a  knob  on  the  top  like  a  jewel  in  the 
lotus."  "It  is  yours,"  I  said,  "only  a  very 
humble  present  that  cost  me  nothing."  The 
abbot  took  his  departure,  his  monk  carrying  a 
New  Testament  for  him,  and  his  precious  pre- 
serve dish  "  clear  as  crystal." 


XIII 

A  MISSIONARY  CHAPTER 

We  imagine  in  our  home  land  that  the  word 
heathen  is  a  synonym  for  all  that  is  evil  and 
detestable  in  human  nature,  but  this  conception 
is  ver}'"  far  from  the  truth.  If  you  want  the 
worst  people  in  the  world  you  will  find  them  in 
America — in  Sing-Sing,  and  out  of  Sing-Sing. 
The  Gospel  is  a  savor  of  death  unto  death, 
quite  as  much  as  it  is  a  savor  of  life  unto  life. 
Where  it  is  preached  you  will  find  the  greatest 
evil  as  well  as  the  greatest  good. 

We  believe  that  Korea  merits  quite  as  much 
as  does  India,  what  Max  Miiller  says  regarding 
the  truthful  character  of  the  Hindus.  In  some 
respects  a  lack  of  truth  is  seen,  as  I  mentioned 
in  the  chapter  on  the  Korean  mind ;  but  we 
have  to  specify,  for  at  the  next  turning  there 
may  be  discovered  just  as  striking  an  example 
of  the  presence  of  this  very  virtue.  I  have 
been  impressed  by  the  quiet  simple  life  of  the 
people  of  Korea — especially  in  the  village  com- 
munities— heathen  idolaters  though  they  be. 
Their  hospitality  is  a  most  striking  character- 
istic. There  are  no  beggars,  except  about  for- 
eign settlements.  A  hungry  wayfarer  needs 
238 


A  Missionary  Chapter  239 

but  to  step  into  the  guest-room  of  a  gentle- 
man's home,  and  he  will  be  fed  and  cared  for 
for  nothing.  A  traveller,  if  he  have  no  air  of 
suspicion  about  him,  may  journey  from  end  to 
end  of  the  peninsula  without  money,  confident 
that  there  is  hospitality  awaiting  him  at  every 
turning. 

The  simple,  patriarchal  style  of  life  is  more 
conducive  to  honesty  than  our  complicated  sys- 
tems. If  you  go  with  me  to  a  farmhouse  you 
will  see  how  country  people  live.  There  is  the 
field  where  they  grow  the  cotton.  There,  in  a 
room  in  the  inner  in  closure  of  the  house,  the 
women  spin  and  weave  it  into  dress  goods.  For 
extras,  the  silk  worms  are  busy  feeding  on  mul- 
berry leaves  and  winding  their  cocoons.  These 
too  are  taken,  spun,  and  woven  ;  and  so  in  the 
compass  of  one  home  you  find  your  dress  ma- 
terials. The  black  hats  and  head-bands  are 
usually  bought,  though  the  wide  straw  shades 
are  woven  by  the  men.  Straw  shoes  too  are 
made  by  any  male  member  of  the  family.  A 
Korean  can  accomplish  marvels  with  a  bundle 
of  loose  straw.  He  makes  from  what  we  would 
throw  away  as  useless,  shoes,  ropes,  and  mats — 
all  beautifully  woven.  Then  there  are  the 
fields  of  rice  and  buckwheat.  The  rice  is 
gathered  in  sheaves,  and  threshed  out  over  a 
log  before  the  door,  the  grain  falling  on  mats. 
This  again  is  hulled  by  a  water  pestle  or  large 


240  Korean  Sketches 

hammer,  worked  by  a  running  stream.  The 
grain  is  put  into  a  hollowed  stone,  and  the 
hammer  pounds  away  until  all  is  hulled.  Then 
it  is  ground  by  two  women  at  the  mill,  one 
turning  the  stone  and  the  other  feeding  the 
grain.  Here  is  their  food  and  clothing.  Little 
is  left  for  them  to  buy,  so  they  require  but  little 
money. 

In  some  respects  Koreans  are  exceedingly 
trustworthy ;  more  so  than  we  are  in  our  en- 
lightened land.  I  once  knew  an  American 
lady  who  lived  alone  with  two  little  children 
in  the  capital.  She  was  quite  unprotected  by 
bolts  or  gates,  and  had  plenty  in  her  home  to 
tempt  the  natives.  Being  aware  of  this  we  had 
one  of  the  coolies  of  the  street  to  sleep  every 
night  just  before  the  stove  by  her  bedroom 
door.  Through  the  anxious  hours  he  was 
there  rolled  up  in  his  blanket,  a  bundle  of  un- 
kemptness,  but  faithful  as  a  collie  dog;  and 
had  it  been  necessary  he  would  have  died  for 
her. 

Once  on  the  east  coast  I  was  in  need  of 
money  and  telegraphed  for  one  hundred  dollars 
by  special  courier.  This  was  Thursday  night, 
and  the  distance  from  the  capital  was  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles.  On  Monday  morning 
at  breakfast,  a  mud-bespattered  coolie  an- 
nounced himself,  and  handed  me  wrapped  in 
paper    one   hundred   dollars.     He    had    made 


A  Missionary  Chapter  241 

nearly  sixty  miles  a  day  over  the  roughest  roads 
in  Korea  to  bring  me  the  money  safely.  He 
was  not  worth  a  dollar  himself,  and  a  hundred 
would  have  kept  him  for  years.  Why  did  he 
not  run  off  or  say  he  had  been  robbed?  Be- 
cause he  was  too  much  of  a  man,  was  to  be 
trusted,  and  had  a  sense  of  honor. 

The  natives,  too,  are  orderly.  Markets  and 
other  gatherings  scarcely  require  police  as  ours 
do.  They  have  a  sense  of  fairness  that  enters 
into  business  relations.  Business  credit  stands 
as  high  with  them  as  with  us,  and  a  man's 
word  in  a  bargain  is  taken  for  more  than  it  is 
in  America.  If  you  pay  for  land,  the  public 
will  stand  by  you  in  possession  of  it  whether 
you  have  a  deed  or  not. 

Another  remarkable  fact  is  the  trustworthi- 
ness of  house  servants.  Money  and  valuables 
can  be  left  in  their  care  with  perfect  safety. 
Year  after  year  will  pass  with  not  once  a  dis- 
honest act.  This  has  been  the  experience  of 
more  than  one  foreigner.  Some  hold  that  it  is 
from  fear  of  punishment  that  they  do  not  fall 
into  sin,  but  fear  never  yet  kept  a  man  long 
straight  in  anything.  Fear  would  wear  off, 
and  their  real  character  come  to  the  surface,  in 
less  time  than  we  have  given  them  for  a  test- 
ing. 

For  eight  years  I  had  in  my  employ  a  young 
man  who  had  been  born  with  some  means,  and 


242  Korean  Sketches 

so  had  not  learned  to  work.  He  had  spent  his 
life  at  school  in  the  study  of  Chinese.  I  first 
met  him  in  a  little  hut  on  the  seashore  many 
miles  from  the  capital.  He  had  an  attractive 
manner  that  took  my  fancy,  and  I  asked  him  if 
he  would  come  with  me.  He  agreed,  and  we 
made  our  first  visit  to  Fusan  together.  Other 
natives  had  warned  me  against  him,  as  being 
easily  led  into  bad  company,  which  was  true, 
in  a  way ;  but  notwithstanding  this  defect,  in 
all  the  eight  years  never  once  did  he  deceive  or 
fail  me.  He  was  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  his  own 
comfort  or  convenience  to  mine ;  would  give  ex- 
tras from  his  table  in  his  desire  that  I  should 
fare  well;  would  lay  his  few  treasures,  what- 
ever they  might  be,  at  my  feet,  if  he  thought 
they  could  be  of  use ;  was  insulted  and  abused 
for  standing  for  my  honor — and  yet,  faithful  in 
everything  for  eight  long  years,  as  far  as  his 
relationship  to  me  and  those  around  me  was 
concerned,  his  was  the  most  faultless  life  I  have 
ever  seen. 

By  nature  Koreans  are  quite  as  good  as  we — 
better,  I  think.  They  need  no  Western  school- 
ing or  higher  education  to  prepare  them  for  the 
Gospel.  They  are  prepared  already,  and  are 
worthy  of  the  best  that  we  can  give  them.  Not 
that  they  are  without  faults,  but  these  excellen- 
cies they  have,  and  more,  for  as  a  rule  they  are 
good  to  their  wives,  and  kind  to  their  children ; 


A  Missionary  Chapter  243 

but  in  the  spiritual  world  they  are  all  wrong,  and 
here  we  discover  the  marks  of  heathenism. 

Their  huts  are  the  dwelling  places  of  idolatry. 
They  worship  various  spirits  or  gods  in  each 
room,  one  for  the  kitchen,  one  for  the  outer 
chamber,  etc.  Most  of  this  fetichism  is  sanc- 
tioned by  the  men  and  carried  on  by  the 
women.  They  throw  rice  into  the  well  to  quiet 
the  dragon,  and  offer  sacrifice  to  Ma-may  the 
god  of  smallpox  and  to  other  unclean  spirits. 
They  worship  snakes,  weasels,  and  pigs,  and 
not  a  day  goes  by  but  the  spirit  of  some  animal 
must  be  propitiated.  The  sounds  that  awake 
you  at  night  are  most  of  them  connected  with 
heathen  worship.  *'  Aigo !  Aigo  !  Aigo  !  " 
means  that  some  one  is  dead  and  they  are  sit- 
ting in  sackcloth  and  ashes  wailing  thus.  A 
gong  that  has  a  peculiar  tin-pan  tone  to  it,  has 
often  disturbed  me.  It  is  meant  as  a  kind  of 
solace  or  requiem  to  the  soul  on  its  journey  to 
the  other  land.  Once  a  friend  of  mine  was  dy- 
ing, and  as  soon  as  it  became  known  to  the  na- 
tives, an  old  woman  or  two  came  with  gongs 
and  sat  outside  the  yard  enclosure  beating 
them  till  he  passed  away.  A  peculiar  weird 
shriek,  heard  night  and  day  in  the  streets  of  the 
capital,  is  from  a  fortune-teller  or  prophet  who 
finds  abundance  of  people  to  employ  him. 
Along  the  roadway  there  are  devil-posts  cut 
with  grinning  teeth,  and  planted  there  to  keep 


244  Korean  Sketches 

malignant  spirits  from  passing.  When  cholera 
broke  out  in  1895,  we  had  them  all  about  us 
with  an  inscription  written  along  the  front, 
"  This  is  the  general  who  is  after  the  cholera 
devils."  Besides  this  a  ditch  would  be  dug 
across  the  roadway  to  make  sure  that  no  spirit 
should  pass. 

Another  mark  of  heathenism  is  the  idea 
that  the  exposure  of  decapitated  bodies  will 
serve  as  a  preventative  of  evil  doing.  One  day 
when  riding  past  the  execution  ground  beyond 
the  East  Gate,  I  saw  a  number  of  human  heads 
on  the  roadway,  trampled  by  the  horses,  the 
grass  about  bespattered  with  blood,  and  a  little 
further  on  were  the  bodies  with  the  ravens  feed- 
ing on  them.  The  people  going  by  wagged 
their  heads  like  the  Jews  past  Golgotha.  A 
soldier  on  the  field  of  battle  dies  honorably,  but 
the  ghastliness  of  an  execution  ground  is  be- 
yond words  to  express;  and  yet  to  tliis  our 
Saviour  came  in  His  humiliation  and  suffering. 

One  cold  day  on  a  trip  into  the  country,  I 
was  ahead  of  the  horses  walking  to  keep  warm, 
when  I  came  upon  a  mat  by  the  roadside  from 
beneath  which  I  saw  hands  and  feet  protruding. 
I  asked  my  boy  what  this  was,  and  he  said, 
*'  A  dead  Korean.  Very  cold  you  know,  sir ! " 
He  was  left  right  under  two  great  gods  cut  out 
of  the  mountain  side,  that  watched  me  all  the 
afternoon ;  but  the  gods  were  immovable — and 


A  Missionary  Chapter  245 

the  frozen  man  was  immovable — and  the  people 
were  immovable  as  the  stony-hearted  gods  they 
worship. 

Long  journeys   fall   to  the  lot  of  the   mis- 
sionary, and  on  these  he  has  ample  opportunity 
for  studying  the  character  of  the  people.    There 
are  streams  to  be  forded,  little  hovels  to  sleep 
in,  vermin  and  disease  to  contend  with,  and  all 
the  varnish  is  worn  off  of  life,  and  people  go 
about  in  their  true  color,  but  you  never  find  a 
horse-boy  who  is  not  willing  to  take  you  on  his 
back  over  the  fiercest  torrent,  if  only  his  legs 
are  long  enough  to  fathom  it.     One  chilly  day 
we  reached  a  boiling  stream  with  a  stony  bot- 
tom, that  went  right  across  the  roadway.     My 
long  thin  mapu  (horse-boy)  rolled  up  his  panta- 
loons and  took  me  on  his  back,  for  the  horse 
had  all  it  could  do  to  make  his  own  way  over. 
Step  by  step  he  entered  the  s^turm  und  drang, 
and   then  just  midway,  everything  collapsed, 
and  I  was  pitched  into  the  cold  watery  con- 
fusion.    The   poor   boy  apologized  again  and 
again.     He  really  had  not  felt  so  much  shame 
since  his  father  died.     I  was  not  so  cold  or  wet 
but  what  I  could  appreciate  the  honest  look  of 
dejection  in  his  face. 

Their  speech  too  bears  upon  it  the  mark  of 
the  beast,  for  there  are  two  different  languages, 
where  one  easy  one  might  serve.  One  is  the 
written  or  eye-language,  and  the  other  is  the 


246  Korean  Sketches 

spoken  or  ear-language.  No  one  understands 
the  eye-language  when  it  is  read,  and  no  one 
thinks  of  writing  the  ear-language  as  it  is 
spoken.  When  you  make  a  note  of  what  is 
said,  you  have  to  translate  it  from  the  ear- 
language  into  the  eye-language  ;  and  when  you 
read  from  a  book  to  listeners,  you  have  to 
translate  from  the  eye-language  into  the  ear- 
language.  The  languages  in  their  character 
and  construction  differ  as  widely  as  English 
differs  from  Syriac ;  for  they  belong  to  different 
families  and  are  in  no  sense  related  whatever. 
The  ear-language,  which  all  the  people  under- 
stand, is  considered  beneath  the  dignity  of  the 
scholar  and  official  class  to  use  as  a  means  of 
written  communication,  so  they  spend  twenty 
years  on  the  study  of  the  eye-language,  and 
then  most  of  them  fail  to  use  it  successfully. 
No  more  hopeless  confusion  exists  than  in  the 
use  of  the  original  languages  in  Korea.  From 
this  confusion  we  are  hoping  to  bring  forth  a 
Christian  literature  that  will  be  understood  and 
appreciated  by  the  mass  of  the  people. 

No  sooner  do  the  people  learn  that  we  are 
there  to  teach  Christianity  than  they  come  from 
all  quarters,  and  from  all  sorts  of  motives — 
some  for  rice,  some  for  work,  some  for  money 
and  some  again  to  be  freed  from  devils  and 
evil  spirits.  None  of  course  come  from  a  de- 
sire for  Christianity,  unless  they  have  heard  of  it 


A  Missionary  Chapter  247 

from  others,  for  a  man  cannot  very  well  desire 
what  he  knows  nothing  about.  Many  who  have 
been  beset  by  evil  influences,  come  in  great  terror 
and  ask  some  way  of  deliverance.  Our  remed}^ 
is  to  read  from  the  New  Testament,  translating 
the  English  into  Korean  as  we  proceed.  They 
listen  with  eagerness,  and  I  have  seen  those  who 
were  in  bondage  transformed  entirely  while 
dwelling  on  these  stories  from  the  Gospel.  As 
a  result  their  homes  have  become  cleaner  and 
tidier,  the  idols  and  other  objects  of  worship 
have  disappeared,  and  you  could  feel  that  it 
was  true,  when  they  said  they  had  experienced 
a  great  deliverance. 

Among  the  inquirers  special  ones  seem  to  be 
sent.  One  Pak  came  in  fear  to  know  of  salva- 
tion. We  read  to  him,  taught  him,  and  he 
came  the  next  day  intensely  in  earnest:  the 
day  following  he  was  gone  with  cholera. 

There  was  a  poor  worthless  coolie  by  the 
name  of  Shin,  who  first  called  on  us  one  morn- 
ing when  we  were  busy.  My  writers,  who  con- 
sider themselves  gentlemen,  insisted  on  putting 
him  out  of  the  room  because  he  was  so  dirty 
and  carried  so  foul  an  odor.  Shin  knew  that 
his  company  was  not  appreciated,  and  when  he 
came  afterward  he  sat  in  the  farthest  corner 
to  listen.  A  few  months  later,  a  well-dressed 
man  with  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart,  sat 
among  the  Christians,  and  showed  in  his  every 


248  Korean  Sketches 

feature  what  a  change  had  been  wrought  in 
him.  He  had  been  a  good-for-nothing  slave  to 
sin  for  years.  He  was  in  the  inner  prison,  his 
feet  fast  in  the  stocks.  The  forces  of  evil  were 
on  guard  about  him,  and  the  prison  doors  were 
shut.  He  was  asleep,  unconscious  of  the  sen- 
tence of  death,  till  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came 
and  awoke  him,  and  said,  "  Follow  me."  And 
he,  not  knowing  what  he  did,  followed,  and 
the  irons  fell  off,  and  the  keepers  were  power- 
less, and  the  prison  doors  opened,  and  out  into 
the  great  city  he  went,  a  free  man.  Shin's 
wife  took  cholera  and  the  Christians  gathered 
for  prayer.  Some  of  them  maintained  that  no 
Christian  would  be  taken,  but  she  grew  worse 
and  worse.  When  we  saw  her,  her  face  wore 
a  deathly  pallor,  and  her  poor  hands  were  livid. 
She  had  entered  the  stage  of  collapse,  and  it 
was  only  a  matter  of  a  few  minutes.  But  their 
prayers  were  answered,  and  she  lived. 

Korea  we  believe  is  worthy  even  of  the  brave 
comrades  that  have  joined  the  noble  army  of 
martyrs,  and  have  laid  down  their  lives  for  her. 
The  first  was  in  the  far  South.  While  living 
there  we  received  word  from  J.  H.  Davies,  who 
had  come  from  Australia,  that  he  desired  to 
make  a  journey  to  Fusan,  and  perhaps  settle 
permanently.  He  left  the  capital  in  April,  and 
came  by  way  of  Ch'ung  ch'ong  and  Cholla  prov- 
inces.    It  was  a  hard   journey,  especially  for 


A  Missionary  Chapter  249 

one  unacclimated  and  but  slightly  acquainted 
with  the  language.  The  natives  had  misunder- 
stood him,  and  had  treated  him  in  an  unfriendly 
way.  For  three  or  four  days  before  reaching 
Fusan  he  had  been  ill,  but  what  was  the  matter 
he  did  not  know.  A  card  was  brought  me 
by  a  coolie  one  rainy  afternoon,  on  which  was 
written,  "  Come  at  once  !  J.  H.  Davies."  I 
found  him  in  a  hut  about  a  mile  from  my  room. 
He  was  tanned  and  travel-worn,  but  otherwise 
did  not  look  particularly  ill.  The  coolies  were 
pestering  him  for  extra  pay,  and  he  asked  to  be 
defended  from  them.  The  pay  was  settled, 
and  he  walked,  leaning  on  my  arm,  until  he 
reached  my  room,  where  he  lay  on  the  cot  rest- 
ing. "  I'll  be  well  now,"  said  he,  as  he  tried  to 
eat  some  food.  I  called  in  a  Japanese  physi- 
cian. After  an  examination,  disclosing  marks 
on  his  body,  he  pronounced  it  smallpox.  We 
watched  all  night,  Mr.  Yi  and  I.  When  I  re- 
turned after  Yi's  watch,  Mr.  Davies  said,  "  He 
was  so  kind  to  me,  he  bathed  my  brow  and 
helped  me  to  bear  the  suffering."  Toward  noon 
the  next  day  symptoms  of  pneumonia  set  in,  and 
the  Japanese  doctor,  who  spoke  German,  said, 
*'Er  wird  bald  sterben,"  which  was  true,  for  he 
passed  away  in  less  than  an  hour. 

On  a  lonely  hillside,  in  that  far  distant  land, 
with  only  a  dusky  native  or  two  to  help  me,  I 
feuried  all  that  was  left  of  J.  H.  Davies,  a  brave, 


250  Korean  Sketches 

true-hearted    Christian,  who  gave  his  life  for 
Korea. 

It  was  only  a  few  weeks  later  that  two  of  my 
friends  came  overland,  Mr.  Fenwick  and  Dr.  J. 
W.  Heron,  physician  at  that  time  to  the  vari- 
ous legations,  and  to  His  Majesty  the  king. 
After  a  stay  of  a  day  or  two,  the  latter  insisted 
on  my  returning  with  him  by  steamer  to  Seoul, 
as  I  stood  in  need  of  a  change.  Not  long  after 
reaching  the  capital  we  made  a  trip  to  Nam 
Han,  to  arrange  a  summer  resort,  to  tide  the 
foreigners  over  the  hot  season.  We  made  a 
circuit  of  the  walls  one  forenoon,  picked  flow- 
ers, and  examined  points  of  interest.  There 
was  in  my  friend's  mind  that  morning  the  pros- 
pect of  a  visit  home  ;  and  many  things  spoken 
as  commonplace  then,  have  a  peculiar  deep 
meaning  now.  The  walk  bad  been  recreation ; 
he  must  mount  horse  and  get  back  to  the  city  hos- 
pital, with  its  crowds  of  diseased  and  crippled 
waiting  for  his  coming.  Many  a  native,  from 
the  king  to  the  poorest  coolie,  had  found  relief 
from  bodily  suffering  under  his  skillful  hand. 
He  was  a  knight  of  Christian  chivalry  and  his 
surgeon's  lance  was  the  weapon  he  wielded. 
None  of  his  own  people  was  forgotten  either 
in  his  labors  for  the  natives,  for  he  felt  that  he 
was  entrusted  with  their  lives  and  safety  too. 
How  well  he  watched  and  guarded  !  Brave, 
fearless  brother!  who  commanded  the  respect 


A  Missionary  Chapter  251 

of  the  highest,  and  the  hearts  and  affections 
of  the  lowest.  His  unselfish,  kindly  way,  was 
the  spiritual  sermon  that  always  accompanied 
his  daily  labors.  But  a  week  later  he  was 
down  with  a  fell  disease,  and  the  one  who  had 
so  often  ministered  to  the  sick  was  destined  to 
go.  A  day  or  two  of  suffering,  and  a  few  of  us 
watched  by  him  as  his  spirit  passed  quietly 
away,  without  a  ripple.  His  last  words  were 
to  his  soldier  and  native  friends  who  gathered 
around  him  as  retainers  about  their  chief. 
*'  Jesus,"  said  he,  **  loves  you.  He  gave  His  life 
for  you.  Stand  by  Him ! "  The  sleep  was 
given  that  marked  him  as  one  beloved,  and 
his  body  was  laid  to  rest  on  the  banks  of 
the  river  Han.  He  stood  among  the  noblest 
and  best  of  men,  and  he  laid  down  his  life  for 
the  people  of  Korea. 

It  was  not  long  till  we  were  called  upon  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  another  physician,  Dr.  Hall, 
who  came  out  under  the  Methodist  Board,  and 
whose  presence  in  Korea  had  been  a  benediction 
to  us  all.  He  too  was  of  the  sainted  type  that 
we  meet  but  seldom  in  Christian  experience. 
The  great  masters  could  not  begin  to  picture 
the  Saviour's  face  as  truly  as  it  was  pictured  in 
the  face  of  Brother  Hall.  He  so  reflected  that 
glory  that  I  for  one,  at  least,  felt  an  increased 
sense  of  guilt  and  sin  in  his  presence. 

It  fell  to  Dr.  Hall  to  open  P'yong-yang  along 


252  Korean  Sketches 

with  Mr.  Moffett.  P'yong-yang  had  up  till 
the  time  of  the  war  been  a  stronghold  of  evil, 
and  Dr.  Hall  lived  in  the  worst  part  of  the 
city.  In  my  own  mind  I  have  pictured  him 
through  the  times  of  persecution  and  trial,  pa- 
tient and  long-suffering,  letting  his  light  shine 
just  as  the  Saviour  did,  often  spending  the  time 
that  health  required  in  the  sunlight,  in  a  dark 
little  room  praying  and  supplicating  God  that 
He  would  open  P'yong-yang  city  to  the  Saviour. 
The  city  is  now  open,  and  the  dear  brother's 
prayers  are  answered ;  but  he  himself  is  absent 
from  us,  and  we  say, 

"  Oh  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand, 
And  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still." 

He,  too,  sleeps  beside  his  comrade,  Dr.  Heron, 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Han :  another  who 
g^ve  his  life  for  the  people  of  Korea. 

The  Korean  is  by  nature  a  hero- worshipper. 
He  loves  a  giant  six  feet  three  or  four,  with 
broad  back  and  thick  hand,  who  can  play  pitch 
and  toss  with  the  sorrows  and  burdens  of  life. 
This  accounts  for  their  admiration  of  missionary 
McKenzie  from  his  first  arrival.  I  have  so 
often  heard  in  connection  with  him  that  he  was 
chey-il  (number  one),  in  everything.  Nobody 
so  tall,  or  stout,  or  strong  as  he.  He  had  a 
giant's  voice,  they  said,  and  yet  his  Christlike- 
ness  made  him  gentle  as  a  lamb.     He  was  uni- 


A  Missionary  Chapter  253 

versallj  beloved.  I  have  heard  it  repeated  that 
nobody  believed  like  Kim  Moksa  (McKeiizie). 
He  was  to  them  the  embodiment  of  Christian 
strength  and  courage.  When  the  Tonghaks  came 
down  with  murder  and  pillage,  all  the  natives 
ran  but  Kim  Moksa  (McKenzie),  not  he.  He 
was  like  a  rock  planted  deep,  that  nothing  could 
move.  So  the  Christians  brought  their  goods 
to  him  to  keep.  And  when  war  was  going  on, 
timid  ones  gathered  under  the  flag  with  a 
red  cross  that  floated  over  the  hut  where  he 
lived  alone  with  his  native  friends.  Murderers, 
with  swords  red  with  blood,  who  came  down 
to  kill  the  **  foreign  devil,"  skulked  away  like 
dogs,  afraid  of  one  who  looked  to  them  the  lion 
of  the  Tribe  of  Judah.  He  not  only  raised 
up  a  Christian  community,  but  he  taught  the 
boys  to  play  ball,  and  to  make  men  of  them- 
selves phj^sically,  as  well  as  spiritually.  He 
was  the  light  of  the  seacoast  of  Western 
Whang-ha.  But  when  he  had  borne  witness 
through  the  time  of  trial,  and  had  carried  his 
brethren  safely  in  his  arms,  his  work  was  done. 
Disease  that  is  stronger  than  the  giant,  fastened 
upon  him.  He  suffered  as  a  brave  martyr, 
tasting  in  his  death  a  humiliation,  that  to  my 
mind  made  him  more  like  his  Saviour,  for  in  an 
hour  of  unconsciousness,  he  shot  himself.  The 
natives  were  heart-broken  at  this  trial  of  their 
faith ;  but  they  buried  him,  kindly  and  lovingly, 


254  Korean  Sketches 

underneath  the  trees  on  the  seashore,  where  he 
had  borne  his  witness  and  lived  so  bravely  for 
his  Master. 

There  is  still  another  of  precious  memory, 
whom  we  include  in  this  martyr  band,  Dr.  H. 
M.  Brown,  whose  quick  temper  and  warm  heart 
breathed  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  We 
remember  Dr.  Brown  more  for  the  kindness  of 
his  nature  than  for  anything  else.  He  was  the 
embodiment  of  that  Christian  love  and  charity 
which  fights  against  great  odds,  and  conquers. 
He  too,  like  his  brother  of  the  Highlands, 
McKenzie,  was  a  man  of  powerful  physique, 
and  when  at  last  he  had  to  lay  down  his  arms 
and  surrender,  it  was  like  the  surrender  of 
Napoleon.  While  on  the  field  he  made  rapid 
progress  in  the  language,  and  even  when  an  in- 
valid, was  building,  studying,  and  teaching,  as 
though  he  had  been  well.  But  consumption 
had  gained  its  hold,  and  it  was  only  a  matter  of 
time  with  him,  though  his  heart  kept  up  and 
his  courage  was  firm.  There  was  an  honesty 
and  openness  of  character  that  was  beautiful. 
Every  thought  was  expressed,  every  conviction 
of  his  soul  he  stood  by.  This  very  honesty 
was  the  cause  of  his  greatest  mistakes.  If  he 
saw  one  downtrodden  his  Highland  blood  was 
up.  One  day  while  walking  with  him  in  the 
streets  of  the  capital,  we  passed  a  group  of  men 
and   boys  intent  on   a  cockfight.      The  birds 


A  Missionary  Chapter  255 

were  covered  with  blood  and  nearly  exhausted. 
Quick  as  thought,  Brown  caught  one  under  his 
arm,  and  marched  straight  ahead  with  a  howl- 
ing mob  after  him  ordering  him  to  drop  it. 
One  man  caught  him  by  the  shoulder  and  meant 
to  take  the  bird  by  force,  when  the  doctor  by  a 
simple  twist  so  reversed  the  man's  ideas  that  he 
walked  nimbly  away.  He  intended  to  save  the 
creature  if  possible,  so  when  he  reached  a  high 
enclosure  he  threw  it  over  to  the  other  side,  and 
it  disappeared  among  the  roofs.  His  teacher 
too  fell  a  victim  to  a  most  unjust  charge  and 
was  locked  up  in  the  yamen  to  be  beaten  and 
maltreated  under  name  of  the  law.  Brown 
took  the  situation  in  in  a  flash,  and  in  just  about 
the  style  Sir  William  Wallace  would  have  done 
it,  broke  open  that  yamen  gate  and  set  his 
teacher  free.  Meanwhile  the  governor  and  his 
soldiers  were  looking  on  meekly  from  a  safe 
distance  in  the  rear.  It  was  a  mistake,  yet  I 
admire  the  man  that  it  showed  him  to  be,  don't 
you?  He  was  a  Christian  soldier,  full  of  the 
spirit  of  chivalry.  He  never  fought  for  self  or 
for  a  selfish  purpose,  but  for  principle  and  for 
the  rights  of  others.  When  his  strong  hand 
could  fight  no  more,  he  lay  down  to  his  rest,  in 
the  conviction  that  his  Lord  was  coming  to  set 
poor  downtrodden,  imprisoned,  mortals  free. 

Korea  has  cost  us  already  the  bravest  and 
best  that  we  had,  and  all  in  the  short  space  of 


256  Korean  Sketches 

twelve  years.  But  there  are  now  over  a  thou- 
sand Christians,  whereas  after  the  same  time  in 
Japan  there  were  only  ten,  while  in  China  they 
worked  nearly  forty  years  for  ten.  Thus 
Korea  in  making  her  returns  is  showing  that  it 
was  not  in  vain  that  these  brave  men  died. 


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PRINTED  IN  US    A. 

DS902.G15 
Korean  sketches, 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00135  5199 


